Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus Draw 1-1 with Ajax in UCL Quarter-Final Leg 1

Ajax held Juventus to a 1-1 draw at the Amsterdam Arena on Wednesday in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final.

Cristiano Ronaldo gave the visitors the lead against the run of play when he met Joao Cancelo's cross with a diving header on the stroke of half time.

Ajax had dominated the possession and chances prior to that, with Donny van de Beek and Hakim Ziyech coming close.

The hosts hit back straight from kick-off in the second half, with David Neres capitalising on an error from Cancelo and some poor defending from Daniele Rugani before curling past Wojciech Szczesny just 29 seconds after the restart.

Neres had the ball in the net again soon after but the goal was disallowed for offside, while Douglas Costa rattled the post at the other end late on, leaving the score level ahead of the second leg in Turin.

Rugani Doesn't Cut It as Chiellini's Heir

Juventus have been eyeing Rugani as a successor to captain Giorgio Chiellini since he was a teenager.

With the 34-year-old absent on Wednesday through injury, Rugani was presented with an opportunity to show he's the right man for the job.

After coming through unscathed in the first half, in which the Bianconeri were under pressure throughout, it was a promising start from the Italian.

Bleacher Report's Gianni Verschueren was reticent to praise him just yet, though:

Rugani showed why in Neres' goal immediately after the restart.

Though much of the blame lay with Cancelo giving away the ball, Neres still had a lot to do when he took possession out on the left.

However, Rugani made the Brazilian's life considerably easier as he backed off him without an attempt to win the ball:

Football writer Adam Digby was unimpressed:

Rugani turns 25 in the summer. While defenders don't typically reach the peak of their powers until they're a bit older, he's hardly a youngster any more either.

Replacing a player of Chiellini's calibre is an unenviable task for most, but he remains unconvincing.

The Italian signed a new four-year deal at Juventus in March, but Wednesday's error was a reminder to Juve they should be considering other options in their search for a player to inherit their stalwart's throne.

What's Next?

Juventus travel to SPAL on Saturday before they face Ajax in the second leg next Tuesday. The Dutch side will face Excelsior in the Eredivisie, also on Saturday.