Real Madrid have been knocked out of the Champions League as the holders crashed out in spectacular fashion against Ajax at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Despite losing the first leg 2-1 at home, Ajax secured a stunning win in the Spanish capital to ensure the 2017-18 Champions League winners fell at the first hurdle of the knockout stages - a result which leaves Santiago Solari's future as coach uncertain.

Real headed into the second leg of their round-of-16 tie confident of progressing given their 2-1 aggregate lead following their win in Amsterdam - though Ajax had consistently threatened the holders.

No side has ever recovered from a 2-1 first-leg home defeat to go through in the Champions League knockout stages, but Ajax made a dream start at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night.

After Raphael Varane headed Lucas Vazquez's cross against the crossbar, Dusan Tadic set up Hakim Ziyech to open the scoring after seven minutes and haul Ajax level at 2-2 in the tie.

And 10 minutes later David Neres rounded Thibaut Courtois to make it 2-0 after latching onto a Tadic through ball.

Marco Asensio pulled one back for Real moments later but almost immediately the visitors restored their three-goal advantage.

Lasse Schone sending a superb free-kick into the net to make it 4-1 on the night and 5-3 on aggregate.

Follow all the reaction and fallout LIVE with Standard Sport!

Live Updates

Welcome to Standard Sport's Real Madrid vs Ajax LIVE Champions League coverage! Bale to be benched? Gareth Bale is expected to miss out on a starting spot as Real Madrid meet Ajax in the Champions League tonight.

The Welsh winger was booed by fans at the Santiago Bernabeu in Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Barcelona in LaLiga and with the club’s season at stake, coach Santiago Solari looks likely to opt for either Lucas Vazquez or Marco Asensio in his place. Photo: AP Luka Modric defended Bale in yesterday’s pre-match press conference, saying his contribution for Real Madrid should not be forgotten.

Lucas or Asensio would offer more defensively in a match which has assumed even greater importance after the Copa del Rey exit to Barcelona on Wednesday and the La Liga loss to the Catalans on Saturday.

Sergio Ramos misses out through suspension after his deliberate yellow card late in the 2-1 win in Amsterdam and the Madrid captain will be replaced by Nacho. Marcos Llorente is out and will play no part for Real. De Jong: Barcelona told me to knock out Real Madrid Photo: Twitter/FCBarcelona Frenkie de Jong says Barcelona told him to knock Real Madrid out of the Champions League ahead of Tuesday's last-16 second leg.

The 21-year-old has agreed to join Barcelona in the summer, deciding against moves to Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain to agree a transfer worth up to £75 million.

Ajax lost 2-1 at home in a controversial first leg as they look to become the first team since Juventus in 2015 to eliminate Real Madrid from the competition.

"I spoke to them when I signed the contract and they told me to try to knock out Real Madrid, as that would be great for Barca too," De Jong told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.

Ajax's daunting task of turning the tie around has been given a slight boost by the suspension of Real captain Sergio Ramos, who picked up a yellow card late in the game in Amsterdam.

De Jong urged his side to be courageous and believes they can still cause a shock by eliminating Madrid, who have lost their last three games at the Bernabeu and were beaten 1-0 and 3-0 by Barcelona in their previous games.

"We have to play on the attack, put them under pressure and play great football," he added.

"If everyone contributes, we have enough quality to cause a surprise." Advertisement Real Madrid vs Ajax predicted line-ups We're about an hour away from team news now. Here's how we think both sides will line up. Ajax manager Erik Ten Hag says he hopes to make Real Madrid pay for Sergio Ramos’ self-inflicted suspension by causing a Champions League upset tonight.

Ten Hag’s side go to the Bernabeu looking to overturn a 2-1 first-leg deficit. Ramos will miss the game having deliberately picked up a yellow card late on in that match, in order to ensure his availability for the quarter-final, should Real get there. Photo: AFP That decision has already backfired once, with Uefa handing the Madrid skipper an additional one-match ban, meaning he will miss the first leg of any quarter-final clash.

And Ten Hag is hoping his side can take advantage to leave Ramos regretting his choice even more.

“It’s a huge blow for Real Madrid.” Ten Hag said. “[Luka] Modric and Toni Kroos are the bosses in the midfield but Ramos is a boss in defence and his absence from a physical and mental point of view will affect their team.” Real Madrid team news Gareth Bale is indeed dropped to the bench, while Nacho fills in for Sergio Ramos at centre back. Full teams to come... Advertisement TACTICS Real Madrid vs Ajax team news Real Madrid XI: Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Nacho, Reguilon; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Lucas V, Benzema, Vinicius.

Subs: Navas, Vallejo, Marcelo, Valverde, Ceballos, Asensio, Bale

Ajax XI: Onana, Tagliafico, De Ligt, Blind, Mazraoui, Schone, De Jong, Van De Beek, Ziyech, Neres, Tadic.

Subs: Varela, Veltman, Sinkgraven, Labyad, De Wit, Huntelaar, Dolberg Ajax name exactly the same side that played so well in the first leg, meaning a fluid front three of Dusan Tadic, Hakim Ziyech and David Neres. That means Klaas Jan-Huntelaar and Kasper Dolberg both start on the bench again. Isco is not even on the bench for the home side... Photo: EPA Advertisement Here's Ben Hayward, on Madrid's final hope - the Champions League Real Madrid are down to their last bullet. Up until a couple of weeks ago, coach Santiago Solari had spoken enthusiastically about competing on three fronts, but now only the Champions League is left.

Back-to-back defeats to Barcelona in the last week have seen Los Blancos knocked out of the Copa del Rey and left 12 points adrift in La Liga. Much like last season, they will now seek solace in Europe. Photo: EPA This time, though, it would appear more difficult. Continental champions for the past three years and over 1,000 days in total, Madrid can no longer count on the player who provided an astonishing 49 goals across those triumphs.

Cristiano Ronaldo is a Juventus player now and Luka Modric admitted yesterday that the Portuguese is missed. Of course he is, especially as he has not been replaced.

Madrid, four-time semi-finalists and four-time winners in the past eight editions of the Champions League, will have to do without Ronaldo's goals and for a potentially tricky last 16 second leg against Ajax tonight, skipper Sergio Ramos will also be absent.

Shortly after Marco Asensio's late winner in Amsterdam, the defender got himself booked to make sure he would be suspended for this match and available for the business end of the competition. His admittance afterwards that he had done so deliberately then earned him an additional ban and he will also miss the first leg of a potential quarter-final tie.

But Solari's side have to get their first. And after two blunt displays against Barcelona in which they failed to score a single goal, it is a fragile and perhaps also a tired team which will face Ajax at the Bernabeu tonight.

Ten minutes to go... Photo: AFP Here come the teams. And the anthem. Almost show time.



Can Ajax cause an upset? Advertisement KICK OFF KICK OFF! We are underway in Madrid... 2 mins: Both Vinicius and Lucas Vazquez, preferred to Gareth Bale tonight, are in the wars early on to earn free-kicks.





The home side have settled quickly here. ES COVERAGE Ben Hayward is at the Bernabeu



Real Madrid have been European champions for the last three years and they are not ready to relinquish their crown just yet. It’s extremely noisy inside the Santiago Bernabeu and the home fans raised a tiff before kick-off which read: “Madrid, you are my passion”.



The final takes place in Madrid this year of course, at Atletico’s Wanda Metropolitano stadium, and Real will want to be there. Ajax's travelling support, around 4,000 of them, are also making themselves heard here. It's quite the atmosphere for a special Champions League occasion at the Bernabeu. Advertisement 5 mins: Off the bar!



Glorious chance for Casemiro as Lucas Vazquez curls in the cross and he has space to head at goal, but watches his effort crash off the bar. GOAL! | Real Madrid 0-1 Ajax | Hakim Ziyech 7'

GOAL! 7 mins: Well, well, well.



The tie is alive and kicking, and it's really Madrid's own doing. They'd started very well, but Reguilon dallies on it and has his pocket picked by Dusan Tadic.



The former Southampton man teases and holds it up well, before sliding into the path of Ziyech, and he finishes emphatically into the far corner. Advertisement 12 mins: As things stand, Madrid are still heading through, but only on away goals. ES COVERAGE Ben Hayward is at the Bernabeu



The thousands of Ajax fans in the corner of the stadium are making a great deal of noise now after that goal and the celebrations from different sectors of the ground showed that there are many more supporters of the Dutch side inside the Bernabeu.



Real Madrid face a character test now. Santiago Solari’s side have lost their previous three matches here (against Girona and Barcelona twice), scoring only one in those matches. This current scoreline would still take them through, but there is now no margin for error and their season is at stake after going out of the Copa del Rey last week and falling 12 points behind Barcelona in La Liga. Next

Can't see the blog? Click here for the desktop version.