Last year it would have ment a loss by ref misses and after 2 matches already 4 points behind. So it's a big difference maker.
Some luck on the first two goals but the Tagliafico-Tadic connection was sublime!!! Keep Kiev to one goal is now critical.
Nice 3-1 win over Dynamo Kiev in the first round of the tie. Ajax were a bit unlucky not to have had a fourth as Huntelaar hit the crossbar and Ziyech the post. Defense did enough in the second half tightening up their marking and Onana had a sparkling match with some very clutch saves. I was a bit surprised to see De Wit come on for van der Beek but I guess ten Hag wanted some speed and pressing in the final five minutes. ten Hag opted to push Tagliafico up the field as much as possible going with a back three of de Jong, Blind and de Ligt. I was wondering what the tactic would be in the absence of Neres. It was a logical move and worked out. Player Ratings: Onana (8) - made some very difficult saves and did as much as he could on what ended up as the Kiev goal Tagliafico (8) - played extremely well and was a little tired coming back when he barely clipped the Kiev player's heel but it was enough to lead to a suspension in the return leg Blind (7) - played positionally very well covering the center back most of the first half when Ajax were on the ball de Ligt (6.5) - some poor marking in the first half on corners but other than that strong play Mazraoui (7) - no doubt this was a much stronger game from the RB; some good interventions and kept his position most of the time Schöne (7.5) - kept his head in the match and controlled the ball well surely he needs time off on Saturday de Jong (5.5) - far too many mistakes on the ball for me van der Beek (7.5) - worked hard all match long and was always busy on the attack as well as tracking back Tadic (7.5) - solid match other than sometimes not tracking back Huntelaar (7) - unlucky not to have scored with two solid strikes on frame and his hold up play was the best I've seen this season Ziyech (8) - caused trouble for Kiev all match long De Wit (5) - came on late to help press and that's just what he did There were some tired players out on the pitch by the end of the match. Seven matches so far since the start of CL qualifying and surely there has to be some rotation on Saturday. ten Hag needs Dolberg back so that Huntelaar doesn't have to carry all the burden at #9.
Very poor football, especially the second half. A ref's decision to not call a PK against us might have been decisive. Huntelaar's "scoring to missing" ratio is in the region of 1:10, still he's never subbed Insisting on Schone for 90 min. is puzzling too.
Really good question. There were two unmarked Kiev players in that space after Onana pushed the ball away. Ajax marking on free kicks was suspect all match long.
Ten Hag's opinion: Dure uitgoal Kiev was volgens Ten Hag simpel te voorkomen VideoTomasz Kedziora kon na een kwartier geheel vrijstaand de 1-1 binnen tikken na de indraaiende corner en vervolgens de kopbal van Viktor Tsyhankov. Volgens Ajax-trainer Erik ten Hag was de dure uitgoal van Dinamo Kiev simpel te voorkomen. ,,De tweede paal verdedigen: daar moeten we gedisciplineerder in zijn. Als Frenkie de Jong iets verder naar rechts stond, had hij die bal weg kunnen koppen'', aldus Ten Hag tegenover Veronica.
'Opvallend dat er opnieuw gallery play sluipt in spel van Ajax' Voetbal International-16 uur geleden Frenkie de Jong is een klasbak, maar die kamikazeacties zoals de bal halen bij Onana en dan lekker dribbelen op de as van het veld moeten ...
Very simple 5-0 against a side that is not worthy of the Eredivise. The one strange thing was that Wöber did not get a start or even come off the bench. Tagliafico is suspended for the return tie with Dynamo so the question is how will Ajax line up defensively? Perhaps they go with a back three with de Jong dropping back to help out. I guess we will see on Tuesday. Ziyech was the MOTM with a very good game. Lots of good pressing all over the field and some easy recovered possessions. Player Ratings (low because this opponent was so poor): Onana (6) - had a couple of wayward kicks and I cannot remember a single save Tagliafico (7) - very nice match going forward Blind (6.5) - got beat badly at about the 70th minute but de Ligt bailed him out de Light (7) - usual strong match Kristensen (7) - played the full 90 and did so quite well Eiting (7) - still a little hesitant when making the first pass but had a very nice cross into the box on the 4th goal de Jong (7) - solid van de Beek (7) - all over the field today on offense and defense Tadic (7.5) - best transfer in a lot of years Huntelaar (7) - got two goals that were both deserved Ziyech (7.5) - incisive passing and strong shooting Mazraoui (5.5) - on for de Jong in the MF Serhuis (5) - really didn't get a chance to do much Johnsen (5.5) - on late to play on the left wing and had a couple of nice touches A trip to Ukraine coming up (notice the correct grammar!!) with a big CL qualifying match on Tuesday.
I never bet on Ajax games. I can't bet against my fav team of course and whenever I bet on Ajax to win the game they fail to do so. So for me it's lose-lose situation. Instead I bet on PSV scoring in extra time. I've made a small fortune so far.
I couldn't figure out why they kept cutting to the person in the stands with the long dreadlocks at Saturday's match. Turns out it was Bob Marley's son and he was in Amsterdam for a Sunday concert. https://www.ajaxlife.nl/updates/marley-zingt-als-bedankje-three-little-birds-in-zijn-ajaxshirt
Scoring a goal will most certainly win us the tie, but we took only one striker to Kiev and that's the wasteful Huntelaar. I pray he proves me wrong. No matter what we have to do it. Good luck.
And he apparently didnt know Ajax fans sing that "Everything's gonna be allright" song until he hear it and it was explained to him by his handler
Still a lot to do in the 2nd half. This club has to be better at finishing if they want to play CL football.
On to the Group Stage of the Champions League!!!! In the end, Ajax just had too much talent on the ball compared to Dynamo. Outside of the first fifteen minutes, Ajax were in control of the match and should have finished things off at several points during the match. This kind of finishing will certainly be punished when they move on to more talented competitors. Ajax really need to get Dolberg back to the pitch. Huntelaar cannot keep up this kind of playing schedule for much longer and I was surprised that he was not substituted off for the final 15 minutes. Player Ratings: Onana (7.5) - had some work to do in the first fifteen minutes of the match and was up to it Wöber (7) - more than adequate substitute for Tagliafico and it was good to see him go forward with purpose Blind (7.5) - he really had a fine game on defense and his passing was incisive de Ligt (7.5) - great match from our Captain, really strong in keeping things organized on the back line Mazraoui (6.5) - poor defending on the early break into the box by his man but after that was fine Schöne (7) - good field sense with his passing and he managed to defend pretty well de Jong (7) - very good first half and then tailed off a bit; never make a back heel when you're deep in your territory and you don't know what is behind you!! van de Beek (5.5) - really ran hard all game but his finishing was mediocre Tadic (7) - two centimeters off on the PK but he sits on the ball so well and makes some great plays as a result Huntelaar (6.5) - really tired down the stretch and was unlucky not to have scored Ziyech (8) - strongest player for me tonight and he was relentless challenging for the ball everytime there was a turnover Group Stage draw is this Thursday and I believe Ajax will be in Pot 3
Crongrats to our team! Although I need to say Tadic was awful today. Same as Huntelaar, he looked tired and wasteful yet again. I wish we can have new blood there but Sierhuis is yet too young. Besides the mistake he made Dejong looks like the real deal, really calm on the ball and hardly put a foot wrong. I really enjoyed Eiting today, smooth on the ball and have a great vision. Van De Beek seems to be overrated tbh, inaccurate on the shots but he put a strong performance defensively.
Ahum, giving Tadic a 7 is EXTREMELY generous, even after missing his PK. My Tadic rating = 5.5 at best