Into the final 16 of the Champions League with a bit of a pedestrian performance. Ajax were poor in ball rotation and playing speed which allowed AEK to set up a bank of 8 and sometimes 9 too easily. The double pivot of de Jong and Schöne were to close to one another to create any openings. Neres had the only chance of the first half but could not get enough power on the header. Tadic scored the match winner from the spot on a somewhat weak penalty call by Michael Oliver for a hand ball. I thought it could have gone either way as the arm was still close to the body. Ajax now on 11 points and can keep the group lead if Bayern slip to Benfica in Munich. Player Ratings: Obama (7) - had two tough plays to make and made them both but otherwise was not troubled Blind (7) - really good on the ball and defended OK Wöber (6.5) - other than whiffing on the ball at the end of the first half and causing some danger for Onana had a fine match with several good interventions de Ligt (7) - solid match on defense Mazraoui (6) - some slip ups on defense but they were far enough away from goal to matter much Schöne (6.5) - decent enough match de Jong (6.5) - decent but not up to his high standards van de Beek (7) - solid enough with some good runs, shame his toe poke went off the post Tadic (7.5) - had some very ordinary moments but three very nice ones and the brace gets him my MOTM Dolberg (5.5) - drew some fouls but that was it, no incisive runs Neres (6.5) - had one chance on goal but was not terribly dangerous otherwise Huntelaar (6) - above average coming in for Dolberg Labyad (5.5) - good to see him getting more match time Kristensen (5.5) - good enough in a sub role Now we wait for Bayern-Benfica
They did enough to win, and thats all that matters. Ajax can now win the group with a home victory over Bayern next month
3-0 now. Benfica wont come back from that. So Ajax have to win their homegame or they finish 2nd. Wont be easy if Robben is fit and plays like today
LOL....what did I tell you??!! Robben is doubtful for Bremen match, which means he might be doubtful for Ajax as well https://www.ad.nl/buitenlands-voetbal/robben-twijfelgeval-voor-duel-met-werder~a86bde23/
I wonder what would have happened in 2010 WC with a fully health Robben and van Persie. Remember van Persie got badly injured in a friendly against Italy early in the year and Robben was injured on an off.
A dominant game by Ajax against an ADO team that seemed to be content to stay deep and let Ajax have possession. Ajax had a fine game passing the ball and peppered the ADO goal with 30 shots. Some good saves from the ADO keeper kept the score from really getting out of hand. Good to see Sinkgraven come back onto the pitch after a year and a half out because of a knee injury. Player Ratings: Onana (6.5) - not sure if he had the angle wrong on the ADO goal but he came up with a couple of fine saves Tagliafico (7) - good game on both sides of the ball Blind (7) - had a couple of moments where he seemed to be beaten with pace but managed to intervene each time before moving up into the MF for the last quarter of the match de Ligt (7.5) - had a rocket shot well saved before getting a goal and was defensively sound as usual Mazraoui (5.5) - didn't have much of impact on the match de Jong (6.5) - played much of the game as the deep lying playmaker (Schöne was injured in warmups according to the match commentator) before moving up into a more free role van de Beek (7) - quiet for the first part of the match before getting some good runs into the box and taking a good shot for a goal Labyad (7) - very nice match Tadic (7.5) - really good with the ball and creating dangerous chances in the box for others Huntelaar (6) - had some good runs but both of his tries on goal were saved Neres (7.5) - very nice goal and had a couple of other chances to score Wöber (6) - good play coming on in the second half and pushing Blind into the MF; needs more playing time Dolberg (6) - one nicely taken goal and one opportunity muffed Sinkgraven (6) - on for the final 10 minutes in the MF and good to see him play PEC Zwolle up next before the group decider against Bayern in the Arena
538 now has Ajax at 64% to win the league, despite the fact that they're two points out. https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/soccer-predictions/?ex_cid=rrpromo
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/soccer-predictions/champions-league/ Ajax have a 12% chance to make the CL final and 6% chance to win it. Time for @Brilliant Dutch to place that wager!!!!
The odds for a win from Feyenoord over PSV were very good if you dared to put your bet on Feyenoord. I wonder how many dared as we got crap in the media going from being routed to hardly able to bunker a draw.
I thought the Feyenoord MF would boss the game and that's what they did. Playing away in de Kuip puts every team at a disadvantage. Next time for the Ajax match make v sure there are lots of footballs with the supporters in the stands. That should be enough to prevent Ajax from scoring
Sorry Arjen, but for once this is good news Now we just need this injury to drag on for 1 more week https://www.telegraaf.nl/sport/2882254/robben-kampt-met-bovenbeenblessure
Frenkie off to PSG next year for 75 mill https://www.vi.nl/nieuws/transferda...nd-frenkie-de-jong-zo-goed-als-zeker-naar-psg
In case it goes through, it would also be a massive pay-day for Willem II and RKC. He moved from Willem II to Ajax for only one euro (and 15% of a future transfer). Als handtekeningen Frenkie en @PSG_inside zijn gezet ook champagne ontkurkt bij @WillemII dat 15% van transfersom krijgt: circa 11,25 miljoen. #Ajax En nu ga ik pitten. 03.44 uur in Dubai— Mike Verweij (@MikeVerweij) December 6, 2018
Driessen sums it all up perfectly: https://www.telegraaf.nl/video/2888743/zo-verliepen-geheime-onderhandelingen-frenkie-en-psg The deal isnt sealed just yet though. Its still waiting confirmation
Isn't PSG still under investigation over the UEFA Fair Play rule? They spent big money on Neymar and Mbappe and not they want to spend even more on de Jong?
It's rumoured they're going to sell Neymar to probably Real Madrid for a big bag of money. The money they pay Neymar for not criticizing the coach and an addition to it is more than enough to pay Frenkie's salary plus as an extra then they save that dude's normal salary.
Hey folks just wanted to say I've created an Ajax Fans International group on Facebook, where we post news, TV announcements, gossip and general Ajax stuff. Please check it out. Cheers, Jim (Ajax USA of yore)