02 OCT 2019; Valencia - Ajax; CL Group Match 2

[kezme44]

great result. tadic and van de beek had good a game. chelsea next!

[SPL]

Good performance by our team .A bit like Lille they could have got 3 but we should have got 6 or 7. English commentator on BT felt Ajax can still up their game and play in an even higher gear.

Not sure how we got so many yellows against a mob of divers who went mostly unpunished.

Hakim and Donny's goal both superb.

[Orange14]

Ajax withstood a bunch of pressure at the beginning of the second half thanks to superb goalkeeping by Onana. When van de Beek got the third goal, Valencia were noticeably deflated and it was just a question of not making any mistakes from that point on. Pretty poor passing by both teams during the match. Ajax gave away the ball way too cheaply in their end but got away with it. Six points from the first two games is a good start for this CL quest.

Player Ratings:

Onana (8.5) - some outstanding stops marred only by a cheap YC for time wasting (deserved)
Tagliafico (7) - had a great shot on goal that was well saved but had trouble defending
Blind (7) - good on the night
Veltman (7.5) - yes, he had an early YC but then cleared everything that was in his area
Dest (6) - very poor first half and very good second half, still needs to be alert on defense
Martinez (7.5) - a total rock in the defensive MF
Alavarez (5.5) - way too late on the PK call and several weak passes; did defend well having some good blocks
van de Beek (7.5) - all over the field; great assist on the Promes goal and then he took a great chance and then a delicate chip over Cillessen had to be cleared off the line
Promes (7) - nice match but needs to be aware of the new rule about exiting the pitch on a substitution; no excuse for the YC
Tadic (7.5) - did not score but look at how he held the ball up and passed in tight spaces
Ziyech (8) - wonder goal for the match winner and did the defensive work helping to contain Valencia breakaways
Neres (5.5) - a couple of nice touches coming on late
Huntelaar (NR)
de Jong (NR)

Chelsea coming up at home in three weeks!!!!!!

[Orange14]

I know. I'm not saying it's not a yellow. But diving has been a yellow for 20 years. Ref was happy to wave his naughty finger for all the dives.

I thought the YC on Tagliafico was really a weak call, could have easily be called a dive

[Ayman]

At this point Ajax only need 1 more win and 2 draws to top the group. Make it happen!

[Amol]

At this point Ajax only need 1 more win and 2 draws to top the group. Make it happen!

Bah - I'm spoilt now. Maximum points in the next 2 games and let some of the kids get some games under their belts in games 5 & 6.

[Orange14]

At this point Ajax only need 1 more win and 2 draws to top the group. Make it happen!

Bah - I'm spoilt now. Maximum points in the next 2 games and let some of the kids get some games under their belts in games 5 & 6.

THIS!!!!!!!

[souras84]

Impressive yet circumstantial. Both our games end with a 3-0 win, but the story could have been completely different. Anyway, extremely happy with the team!! I think Veltman was great tonight, but dangerously aggressive! There were a couple of moments that I was afraid he would get his second yellow

[Amol]

I can say without a doubt that Joel Veltman is the most improved player who I've seen at Ajax in my time.

Let's all take a break and remember how clumsy, slow, unimaginitive and a bad reader of the game he was 3-4 years ago. He's still slow-ish but his reading of the game and overall game-play has gone up tremendously. He's still prone to mistakes mind you.

[Amol]

One last thing I would like to add is that, Ajax is supposed to be at a higher standing (Pot 2) than the clubs we've beaten so far. I'm looking forward to playing against Lampard's Chelski over the next 2 matchdays.

[Tom_]

The match against Chelsea will be interesting for sure. Unlike Real and Juventus last season, I’m not convinced Chelsea are better than us on paper.

I don’t watch English football much but I saw the 20 min highlights of their win in Lille. They looked like they get the ball wide and cross it to Abrahams a lot (I think that’s his name). They seem to use a slow buildup rather than play on the counter.

[Orange14]

Chelsea's "business model" has been hurt by the transfer ban as they have been forced to rely on youth players rather that purchasing new talent. Biggest issue on this side of the pond is Lampard decision not to play American starlet Christian Pulicic much at all (he was left off the team sheet yesterday). N'golo Kante, one of the best DMs in the game, was out injured early in the season which hampered the club. One of their young MFs, Mason Mount, was on loan to Vitesse two seasons ago. It should be an interesting match up but I'm not convinced about Lampard's ability as a tactician.

BTW, Onana was on ESPN's CL team of the week for his performance last night.