Erik ten Hag has a Champions League blueprint that can benefit Manchester United

Erik ten Hag leads Manchester United into the Champions League for the first later this month and what he and the Reds fans wouldn't give for a repeat of his first sojourn into the competition proper with Ajax.

The Dutch giants surprised much of Europe with an inspired run to the semi-finals in 2019, where they were only denied a place in the final by a Lucas Moura hat-trick and a last-gasp goal in the last four.

Ten Hag had moulded an exciting side in the ethos of Ajax. They enthralled and entertained, thrashing Real Madrid in the Bernabeu and dumping Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus out of the competition.

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This came after having drawn twice with Bayern Munich, who United will face this season, during an unbeaten group stage which Ajax had reached by battling through three rounds of qualifying. They played 18 games in the competition that season, losing just two and both to late goals.

There was a steel as well as a skill to a talented team which had current United players Andre Onana and Donny van de Beek as key figures. Ajax plundered goals and their style was built on an aggressive press and playing as high up the pitch as possible.

They came through a reasonably tough group, finishing ahead of Benfica to secure second spot and a date with Real in the last 16. Having lost the home leg 2-1 in a game where Sergio Ramos deliberately got booked late on to ensure he missed the second leg to get his suspension out of the way before the quarter-finals, Ajax took Madrid apart in their own backyard.

A sublime showing was heralded as a new era for an Ajax side synonymous with brilliant, generational European sides. Italian newspaper La Gazzetta