Also, there were a couple shady things during that draw. Man United getting picked when they couldn’t be.. then their ball not being put in against Atletico, I think it was? And of course they were drawn against PSG so you have Ronaldo v Messi. I mean, I’m not a conspiracy theory person at all.. but the whole thing seemed pretty whack.
VI thinks so too: https://www.vi.nl/nieuws/eredivisie-op-rapport-schuurs-positieve-uitzondering-bij-ajax Eredivisie op Rapport: Schuurs positieve uitzondering bij Ajax 09.31 uur
Yes, he was decent in the match and covered well. Timber was at fault on both goals and here is a more detailed analysis: I have watched the replays a couple of times. On the first goal, the press upfield failed. Timber tripped over an AZ player and was out of the play so Martinez has to come all the way over to defend on the right side picking up DeWit but nobody helps out on the over lapping runner and De Wit finds him with a nice pass. The deflection off Midtjsoe finds the open striker who was not marked at all and Pasveer has no chance. It was more than a fluke goal as Ajax were poorly organized and missed players to mark. On the second goal, Timber is not far enough outside to take away all the space on that side. From the video he looks even with Schuurs when he should be several meters outside of the CD. Karlsson is calling for the ball and gets it with Timber not able to make up the space to challenge him. Wijndal makes a smart inside run and is not picked up by Antony (first; Antony actually does have him covered but then stops assuming someone else will pick him up) and Berghuis (second); he cuts to the end line getting a nice pass from Karlsson and puts the ball right at the striker's foot (Schuurs did make a stretch to try and deflect the ball but it was too perfect of a pass). Multiple point of failure on each goal.
538's projections for Ajax haven't really changed much since the draw in terms of winning the final, but we're 80% to get to the next round. https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/soccer-predictions/champions-league/
If Ajax creates at least the number of chances PSV managed against Benfica and Haller and co up front convert those in the usual % of the CL run, there shouldnot be a problem.
https://www.ad.nl/nederlands-voetba...er-weerstand-en-spanning-op-de-hals~a65073e4/ AS Sportwereld calls Ajax naieve in the Eredivisie. That's not the right qualification. It's more disinterestedness in matches against non-glamourous squads of the Eredivisie.
I would not call AZ a non-glamorous team but Go Ahead Eagles certainly is. I did not see what the expected goals for the match was but would not be surprised if Ajax had a higher number than 2. AZ had two chances and made both. That's how games are won and lost.
Mazra being linked with Barcelona https://www.voetbalprimeur.nl/nieuw...-mazraoui-bar-a-denkt-aan-wintertransfer.html
Reeger, Unuvar and van Axel Dongen are in the match day squad for today's cup tie against the amateur side Barendrecht. I assume there will be massive squad rotation for this match.
It sucks for the amateurs that no fans are allowed, as they would get half the revenues of the match.
Ajax easy winners against Barendrecht in the Beker today. Danilo with a brace, Taylor with one and Hlynsson converted from the spot after being fouled in the box. In addition Reeger and van Axel Dongen got their first team debuts and Unuvar also came on.
Back to another clean sheet for Ajax even though Pasveer was just average on the day. The defense held up despite losing Martinez early on in the 1st half. Marco Senesi maybe gets the MOTM for his error in slotting ball past his keeper. For Ajax, it has to be Alvarez who made a number of critical interceptions and controlled the middle of the pitch and I would also single out his partner, Gravenberch, who was also strong on both sides of the game. Tadic was strong from the spot with a hard shot that Bijlow had no chance to save. I was surprised to see that Ajax had more possession than Feyenoord in the match as I thought it closer when Feyenoord controlled the play in 2nd half. Player Ratings: Pasveer (5) - made a couple of big errors, once getting caught out away from his goal and his performance was just average Blind (7) - moved into the middle when Martinez went off wand didn't lose a step defending well Martinez (NR) - off with an apparent hamstring problem in the first half Schuurs (7.5) - really strong match and totally error free which was good to see Timber (4.5) - out of sorts all match long and came off in the 2nd half; his defending and passing were both sub par Alvarez (8) - huge game controlling things in the MF and made a lot of crucial interventions Gravenberch (7.5) - really good on the ball with some nice slalom runs and defended well Berghuis (6) - had very little impact on the match and came off for Klaassen at the 60th minute Tadic (7) - took the crucial PK well and had a fine all around match Haller (6) - won the headers in the Feyenoord half but never was a threat to score Antony (7) - played a decent all around game but was constantly double teamed and could not cut in with the ball Tagliafico (6.5) - had a couple of poor passes when he first came on but settled down to have a nice game Klaassen (6.5) - added some strong pressing and defending in the second half Rensch (6.5) - defended well against Nelson and had a great inside run to draw the penalty call that iced the game Final match of the calendar year on Wednesday, away to Fortuna Sittard.
Senesi had a couple of other silly errors. I distinctly remember a ridiculous back heel when clearing out after a corner. He definitely should have been Ajax’s MOTM! Haha
Looks like Brobbey will come back. Where will they play him if we have Haller as striker?? 4-4-2 maybe?? Or keep him as a supersub?? https://www.ad.nl/transfer-talk/tra...lers-leipzig-en-is-op-weg-naar-ajax~a9a53316/
I was about to post this as well. I think they need an alternative to Haller and Danilo is not good enough. Brobbey thought he was going to a good situation at Leipzig and then Nagelsman left for Bayern and the American who took over was clueless. The new manager has no need for Brobbey. Raiola gave his client bad advice.