Attention Madrid! Ajax capable of goals even without a recognised No.9

Ever Since Real Madrid's first leg victory over the Amsterdam club, Ajax and Santiago Solari's charges have been on very different paths, with the Dutch side proving they are capable of goals, even without a recognised No.9.

This has been far from the case in Madrid, with Los Blancos failing to score in 180 minutes of football against Barcelona, bringing Cristiano Ronaldo's departure into the public eye once more.

Ajax, on the other hand, have found the net 13 times in that same time period with Dusan Tadic and Hakim Ziyech both proving you don't necessarily need a centre forward to score a significant number of goals.

The pair have 42 between them already in all competitions this term, with Erik ten Hag's style of play proving to be much more important than the personnel out on the pitch.

Tadic arrived back in the Eredivisie after a mixed spell with Southampton in the Premier League, but having been utilised as a false-nine since signing for De Godenzonen, he's excelled by scoring 25 goals and adding 13 assists.

Florentino Perez placed huge belief in the players already in the Spanish capital to pick up the slack after Ronaldo left for Turin, he had hoped that Marco Asensio, Gareth Bale and Lucas Vazquez would be able to produce in a way the aforementioned Ajax duo have.

That, as we know, hasn't been the case with both Bale and Asensio losing their guaranteed place in the team, and much of the club's creativity is now required to flow through 18-year-old Vinicius Junior.

Ziyech and Tadic will be required to score in Tuesday's match if Ajax are to turn the 2-1 deficit around, yet the Moroccan star is truly confident in the partnership he has struck with the former Southampton playmaker.

"I've never felt such a connection with any other player," Ziyech admitted in an interview with Voetbal.

"We don't speak to each other on the pitch because we don't need to, we understand each other's movements without looking at the other.

"It's natural, we both are free to move and one glance is usually enough for both of us to know what we're going to do."

Ziyech has been heavily linked with a move away from the Dutch capital this term, mainly due to his record of 17 goals and 15 assists across all competitions this year.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has been seen as dispensable by the Dutch coach, and hasn't really featured for the team, yet they've been much better for it.

This is something Los Merengues have, as yet, failed to achieve with regards to Ronaldo no longer being present, and Ajax will be hoping that plays into their hands on Tuesday evening.