Ajax complete first leg of potential Treble with KNVB Cup win

Updated: May 17, 2023, 12:23 am
Ajax celebrations
Ajax celebrations
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Forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored twice as Ajax lifted the KNVB Cup with an emphatic 4-0 win over Willem II on Sunday to keep alive their chances of lifting three trophies this season.

The 35-year-old Huntelaar scored either side of halftime for the Dutch giants after Daley Blind had given them the lead.

Blind and Huntelaar netted within 60 seconds of each other some 10 minutes before the break with Huntelaar then making it 3-0 from close range in the 67th minute.

Fullback Rasmus Kristensen added a fourth with 14 minutes left to emphasise Ajax's dominance as they won the cup for a record-extending 19th time.

The result would have come as a huge confidence boost for Ajax ahead of the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday. Ajax lead 1-0 from last week's first leg in London.

Ajax are also in pole position to win the Dutch league for the first time since 2014 as they lead PSV Eindhoven on goal difference with two rounds left to play.