Litmanen is the hero for bold Ajax

European round-up

Ajax, the holders, dug deep into their reserves of strength last night to reach another European Cup final. Trailing 1-0 after the first leg a fortnight ago, the Dutch team travelled to Athens and produced a commanding performance to beat Panathinaikos 3-0 and secure a 3-1 aggregate victory.

The Finnish international, Jari Litmanen, was the main man for Ajax. He scrambled in the opener after just four minutes and added the crucial second goal 13 minutes from time. The Greeks were down and out before Nordin Wooter added a third nine minutes later.

The defending champions' opponents on 22 May will be Juventus, who reached their first European Cup final since the 1985 Heysel disaster despite a 3-2 loss to Nantes in France.

The Italians, 2-0 up after the first leg, won 4-3 on aggregate. Gianluca Vialli put them ahead with an opportunist early goal, Nantes equalised just before half-time through Eric Decroix but Paulo Sousa put Juventus ahead again five minutes after the break. Further goals for Nantes from Japhet N'Doram and Franck Renou did not affect the outcome of the tie.

Aron Winter, the Dutch international midfielder, said last night that he is moving from Lazio to Internazionale in the summer - which may threaten Paul Ince's future at Inter.