An unconvincing 0-4 win (but I will take it any time) and one of the most amazing clean sheets I've ever seen. Great saves from Onana, terrible back passes from several Ajax players, two post hits by Heerenveen shots and an assortment of other shoddy defending but still ZERO goal conceded. First half was terrible despite the two nice Neres goals with an absent midfield and a defense that looked to be just hanging on. Remember that Heerenveen are the only club to have defeated PSV in our wacky Eredivisie. Player Ratings: Onana (8) - had some really tough saves to make and made them all, an Ajax keeper can never fall asleep Viergever (7) - quite a good match and 'if' Wöber can slot in to the back line we may not see Dijks again Wöber (6.5) - really stuck with it on the goal and almost had two more, HOWEVER, still not convincing on defense and what a poor back pass to Onana de Ligt (7) - didn't think he would play this weekend after the concussion but had a decent match Veltman (6.5) - some very silly fouls but otherwise OK Schöne (6.5) - thought he would come off after 60 minutes as he slowed down in the 2nd half, nice PK to ice the match van de Beek (6) - almost scored when the crossbar saved his shot but was not very good on the day Ziyech (6.5) - much better in the 2nd half after being absent for long stretches in the first half Younes (7) - worked hard all match and beat his man to the goal line creating two very dangerous situations Huntelaar (8) - didn't score but passed the ball nicely and was taken down in the box for a well deserved penalty Neres (7.5) - have to take a half point off for the weak back pass early in the 1st half but those two goals were really nice Kluivert (6) - OK coming in for Neres Dolberg (5.5) - on for Huntelaar late Siem de Jong (6) - on for van de Beek and had some nice touches Off next week as the Oranje have one last faint chance to qualify for the WC during the FIFA international break. Home to Sparta coming up.
AD Sportwereld's rating: SC Heerenveen – Ajax 0-4 SC Heerenveen: Hansen 5; Dumfries 6, Høegh 6, Pierie 6 (49. Naess 6), Woudenberg 6; Schaars 6, Kobayashi 7, Thorsby 5,5 (76. Veerman -); Ødegaard 5,5, Ghoochannejhad 6, Rojas 5 (62. Mihajlovic -). Ajax: Onana 6,5; Veltman 6, De Ligt 6, Wöber 7, Viergever 6; Schöne 6,5, Van de Beek 6 (87. S. de Jong-), Ziyech 7; Neres 7 (74. Kluivert -), Huntelaar 7,5 (86. Dolberg -), Younes 5. Arbiter: Gözübüyük 6 Man of the Match: Er zijn bij Ajax voorbeelden genoeg van talenten die de strijd wonnen van de meer ervaren godenzonen. In het geval van Klaas-Jan Huntelaar en Kasper Dolberg kan gezegd worden dat routine in de punt van de aanval de Amsterdammers dit seizoen voorlopig meer vreugde oplevert. Met twee assists op David Neres gaf Huntelaar zijn trainer Marcel Keizer wederom het signaal af dat hij wel oren heeft naar de functie voor vaste spits.
^^Don't understand why they scored Onana so low. He was forced to make several world class saves, two of which came from horrible back passes.
This kid has something special https://www.ajaxshowtime.com/articl...645/gravenberch-binnen-twee-jaar-ajax-1-halen
Champions League football has returned to Amsterdam!!! The Ajax women are playing Brescia this evening and you can easily find a stream. 0-0 at the half.
Ajax ladies playing with 10 following a 21st minute dismissal snatch a goal in the 88th minute and win the match 1-0. I watched from the 40th minute on and it was clear that Ajax was prepared only to defend the draw having lost Van Den Bighelaar but they got the ball forward late and a nice header from Linda Bakker hit the left upright and bounced into the net for the only goal of the match. It wasn't pretty but Ajax now go to Brescia in a fortnight to see if they can advance to the round of 16. I think there are three or four players from the Dutch NT that won the Euro this summer on the Ajax starting team.
One of these days this team will score eight goals but today was not that day. Lots of golden chances but a lack of clinical finishing snuffed some of them out. Sparta really never threatened at all and Ajax dictated the match. There was some lovely combination passing, probably too much on occasion when a selfish shot might have done better. Player Ratings: Onana (6) - had almost nothing to do as there was not a single hard shot on frame Viergever (6.5) - decent enough match Wöber (6.5) - didn't have much defending to do and maybe he's the starter going forward de Ligt (7) - good game and when there was an open field in front of him he took the ball into it Veltman (6.5) - was caught up field one time but otherwise OK Schöne (7) - controlled the back part of the midfield van de Beek (6) - just an OK match Ziyech (7.5) - some wonderful passing and ball handling, this is the player who needs to play at this level every week Younes (7) - got the nice deflection off the Ziyech shot and had a good all around game Huntelaar (6) - really should have done better on the break away, the Hunter of old would have put it away Neres (8) - MOTM, excellent on the ball and wonderful passing S de Jong (6) - had one hard shot that was deflected Dolberg (4) - if you step up for the PK, bury it in the back of the net; he didn't Sinkgraven (5.5) - on late for the first time since the knee injury Next week a trip to Rotterdam!!!!!!
When he is good enough which isn't right now. He has lots of speed but that's about it. He really did not progress as fast as some of us thought he might. He needs to establish himself with Jong Ajax first and that has not happened yet. He is not as good as Neres, Kluivert, Younes or Cerny at this point in time.
I looked at him attentively to the ECU19 and he is very limited technically. He misses a lot of ball control.
Other than a couple of mistakes Ajax was dominant throughout. The Feyenoord goal was a silly one to concede and Onana should not have kicked short where de Ligt might be under pressure since the field was slick with rain. I'll say that was 90% Onana and 10% de Ligt. Veltman is still too slow to play RB and he was at fault on the play leading up to the PK. Let's dwell on the positive. David Neres was massive throughout the match, assisting on goals constantly putting the left side of the Feyenoord defense under pressure. MF was defensively strong, winning lots of balls but strangely silent for the most part on offensive. Onana came up big with three world class saves. GREAT DAY FOR AJAX. Player Ratings: Onana (8.5) - poor decision on the short pass to de Ligt but otherwise superb Viergever (7.5) - solid Wöber (8) - had a very good intervention in the box early in the match to stop a dangerous situation and was strong the rest of the match de Ligt (7.5) - very strong in the air throughout and I'll cut him a break on the slip that led to the goal Veltman (6) - beaten twice on defense but pretty decent otherwise Schöne (7) - held the ball well and defensively strong van de Beek (7) - very strong, winning a number of balls in the MF Ziyech (7) - silent on offense but had some good interceptions Younes (7) - strong shot in the first half but well saved, didn't try to play outside the comfort zone Huntelaar (7.5) - well taken goal on the pass from Neres and constantly hacked by Feyenoord defenders Neres (10) - MOTM with a huge performance, some great passing and field awareness and Feyenoord defenders had no answers Dolberg (7.5) - excellent coming on for KJH and good to see him get on the scoreboard Kluivert (6) - only had a few touches Siem de Jong (7) - I was thinking WTF is Keizer thinking putting him in, two minutes later a goal PSV had an easy win in the early match and are still five points ahead. Midweek Beker match against ASV De Dijk and then back to the league on the weekend against Willem II. FORZA AJAX
I didn't even realize Davids started as a forward in his early career, and not as a holding midfielder
I am very disappointed by the evolution of Ajax this season. The team is much less ambitious in terms of style of play. Keizer proclaimed himself a follower of Cruyff but I do not perceive that in fact. 921299310553255936 is not a valid tweet id
Neres is really progressing nicely. Would love to see Kluivert and him manning the flanks with Dolberg in the middle for the next couple of seasons to see how they'd progress together.
I think that video is misleading because of the positioning of the players and is not a fair one to represent how Ajax are pressing. Veltman seldom comes forward like RBs of other teams that use this rule do so he is way further down field. Ajax also don't have center defenders who have played long enough to figure out how to cover things and they certainly do not have a defensive MF such as Busquets who knows how to disrupt things. Certainly Ajax are pressing more than under Bosz; it's not optimal yet but I think it is moving in the right direction.