Ajax Amsterdam has advanced to the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, with two group stage matches remaining, following a valuable 3-1 victory over hosts Borussia Dortmund in the fourth round of Group C matches. The match also saw Portuguese club Sporting Lisbon defeat Turkish guests Besiktas 4-0. Ajax continues to soar at the top of the group, increasing its total to 12 points and achieving a perfect record so far by winning all four of its matches. Ajax is 6 points ahead of its closest rivals, Dortmund and Sporting Lisbon, who occupy the second and third spots, respectively, while Besiktas remains at the bottom of the standings with no points.
At Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, the 1997 champions, took the lead with a goal from their veteran star Marco Reus in the 37th minute from a penalty, despite being down to ten players after defender Mats Hummels was sent off in the 29th minute. Ajax turned the tide in the second half, equalizing with a goal from Serbian Dusan Tadic in the 72nd minute. Ivorian Sebastien Haller then added a second goal for Ajax in the 84th minute, bringing his tally in the competition to 7 goals, placing him second in the tournament's scoring chart, just one goal behind Poland's Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich, who currently leads the scoring. Ajax completely extinguished Dortmund's hopes of equalizing when Davy Klaassen scored the third goal for the Dutch team in the third minute of stoppage time.
In the Portuguese capital Lisbon, Sporting held onto its hopes of qualifying for the Round of 16 from this group after winning 4-0 against Besiktas. Pedro Gonçalves scored the first two goals for Sporting Lisbon in the 31st minute from a penalty and the 38th minute, before Paulinho added the third goal in the 41st minute. Sporting continued to dominate the match in the second half, with Pablo Sarabia scoring the fourth goal in the 56th minute.
