Advantage to Barcelona, Ajax in Champions League semis

THE first legs of the UEFA Champions League semi-finals are done and dusted, with both games producing enough thrills and spills to leave football fans salivating for more in the return fixtures next week.

Barcelona - the bookies' favourites to win the trophy at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid on June 1 - already have more than one foot in the final, after dishing out a 3-0 hammering to a wasteful Liverpool at the Nou Camp in Spain.

Ajax Amsterdam - an exciting young team and the surprise package of this season's tournament - will protect a precious 1-0 advantage when they host England's Tottenham Hotspur in the Dutch capital.