Doing what it does better than any tournament on the planet, the Champions League took hold across Europe this week. Our latest 'Framed' story comes from Munich as Bayern hosted Ajax with a backdrop that sets the standard at the very top of the game.
In the shape of the Allianz Arena, Bayern Munich have a stadium that stands out for all the right reasons. A profound piece of architectural design, while it may sit somewhat out of town, it is a stadium that hasn't lost its disconnect with fans. For this fixture, it was Ajax who were given the opportunity to show their worth. Bringing a serious quantity of fans too, the energy inside the Allianz showed the power of football and the streams of people that follow their clubs across the European journey.
Ajax are never ones to make up the numbers. The Dutch side took the game to Bayern, fuelled by the energy of their travelling fans. Despite going a goal down relatively early on from a Mats Hummels header, they found their way back into the fixture thanks to a 22nd minute Mazraoui goal and will leave Munich confident having secured a solid point.
Going toe-to-toe, the two sides exchanged regular attacks and the game was played on the front foot. Headline performances from the likes of Manuel Neuer were evident while the battling control of Daley Blind meant Ajax had the ammunition to null their enemies of the occasion. Either team could have won it and right up until the 90th minute it was impossible to call. Two trains heading towards each other with a similar momentum, let's call this one a win for the neutral. Now onto the next.
