'Improved' Shevchenko hits new high

By Marcus Christenson in Amsterdam

Andriy Shevchenko feels he is enjoying one of the best spells of his career after scoring the goal which defeated AFC Ajax and secured AC Milan's place in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League.

Finishing instincts
The Ukrainian international struck the only goal of the Group H game in the 52nd minute at the Amsterdam Arena, showing off his finishing instincts when he calmly collected a cross from Cafu and fired past Ajax goalkeeper Bogdan Lobont.

'Good spell'
Shevchenko then revealed he is in the best form of his life. "I have enjoyed good spells before and it is difficult to compare," he said. "But I am really enjoying my life and my football at the moment and everything seems to be working. I have matured as a person after last season when I suffered a lot of injuries, and I have taken that experience with me and I think it has improved me as a player."

Qualification assured
The forward added that the victory was more down to the professionalism of the squad than his goal. "I was happy to score but the most important thing was that we won and qualified," he said. Milan did just enough to beat a young Ajax side severely depleted by injury and suspension. Coach Ronald Koeman was without six first-team regulars, among them captain Rafael van der Vaart, and in the end it told.

Ibrahimovic blow
With Wesley Sonck suspended Ajax lacked a cutting edge in attack, and Koeman's problems were compounded when Zlatan Ibrahimovic was forced off through injury. Jari Litmanen came on but could not prise open an experienced Milan defence. In contrast to Ajax's young team, the Milan back four had a combined age of 137 by the end of the match after Giuseppe Pancaro had replaced Martin Laursen.

'Turning point'
Both coaches felt that Ibrahimovic's injury had played a large part in the outcome of the game. The Swedish international had looked dangerous before he hobbled off on 40 minutes, and Koeman said: "I think that Zlatan's injury was the turning point. We had started well and I thought we would score. But when he came off we lost our height in attack and we were forced to play along the ground which is very difficult against Milan."

Nervous times
Ajax rarely threatened and Koeman will be hoping that some of his absentees return for the decisive game against Club Brugge KV in two weeks' time. Ajax are certain to go through if they beat the Belgian side, but will have to rely on Milan to win or draw against RC Celta de Vigo if they share the spoils.

'Satisfied'
Milan, however, can turn their attentions back to Serie A to the delight of coach Carlo Ancelotti. "I am very satisfied with the result," he said. "We played well and were well organised. Shevchenko scored a beautiful goal, but we were also helped by the fact that Ajax were missing so many players, there is no question about that."

'Here to win'
Ancelotti said that this may not have been a vintage Milan performance, but he defended his tactics and his side's efficiency. "If you want entertainment you can go to the cinema," he said. "We were here to win and we did just that."