14 MAR 2026; Ajax - Sparta; Match Day 27

[Orange14]

A reunion with our old manager who was undone by Mislintat's follies. He's done a nice job with Sparta this season

[SPL]

NEC won . We need 3 points

[Orange14]

Klaassen??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? WTF

[SPL]

After a lucky goal we have dominated and Berghuis is doing well, Klaassen why is he on the pitch? MF improved when Mokio came on and how lovely to see a quality full back in Tomyasu and Rosa actually can defend unlike Gaaei.

[Ayman]

I am happy with the back 4, except Sutalo, hopefully Ko Ikrataru will be back soon.
Mokio should start at that position from now on, and Regeer has a hamstring,

The striker's position is problematic Konadu isnt good enough. Paolo da Silva should get minutes.
I would like to see Carrizo guven a chance.
Klaassen should be as far away from field.

[SPL]

Finally and for the 1st time this season I have seen the real Ajax but then again we have a proper coach who knows what he is doing .Not saying he is the answer but we played very well and they already look fitter as they lasted 90mins and did not drop off as usual. Klaassen with a great goal but he should just be a sub. All played well and Godts MOM .

Next week v Feyenoord will be the crunch game if we are to finish in the top 3. Still think 4th place as we have given away too many points against the weak sides.

[Tom_]

They definitely played more attacking, which is nice to see, but the quality was still poor IMO. Mokio, Tomayasu etc all quite sloppy with the ball.

Great to win against Sparta, but I think we will probably lose to Feyenoord and get smashed by PSV if we pass like that.

[Orange14]

When I saw that Klaassen was leading the team out of the locker room, I shook my head in disbelief. Has Fred Grim's favorite player now become Oscar Garcia's favorite? Hard to understand football at times. Klaassen acquitted himself well with a neat run in the second half to get in on goal bet the pass and score. He played the full 90 minutes but was huffing and puffing in the last 15. There was a fine display of some classic Ajax football that somehow was conjured out of a nothing season. Sparta were on a bit of a down run but still have had a good season. The defense was better but there were some lightning crosses by wingers that flew past the goal mouth as there was not a player to attack them. PSV did not do us any favors by laying an egg at home and losing to NEC in a game that was really not close despite the home team having lots of possession. Ajax pretty much have to win out now to stand any chance of a CL spot. Hard to know whether this will happen. Anyway, it was good to see a proper game without having to worry that Ajax will throw it all away in the 2nd half.

Player Ratings:

Paes (6.5) - kicking not great but he had a couple of good saves and kept a clean sheet
Rosa (7) - I thought he had a fine game, it was interesting that he stayed back when he was playing on the right as Ajax pretty much always attacked down the left
Sutalo (7) - very calm and almost mistake free, only the silly foul when he had firm hold of the Sparta attacker outside the box
Baas (6.5) - some suprising very bad passes tonight
Tomiyasu (7) - finally a LB worthy of Ajax but we don't know how he will hold up playing 60+ minutes which was close to 10 time more than he has played since he signed
Regeer (NR) - 25 minutes and then what looked to be a serious hamstring injury and we may not see him again this season
Steur (6.5) - an excellent first half with a great pass to Berghuis for the second goal and then he was just average in the 2nd half
Klaassen (6.5) - had a couple of good passes and the great run already mentioned to get a goal but otherwise just Klaassen-average
Berghuis (7.5) - yes, those in the Arena voted for Godts as MOTM but Berghuis was excellent on the evening, great reception of the Steur pass and then an off foot volley for a goal
Konadu (5.5) - had some nice passes in the box but really should have scored at least once when he was set up, he is still young but nothing shows me that he is the future Ajax #9
Godts (7.5) - really fine game with outstanding dribbling past opposing players, and then the great pass to a breaking Klaassen. If Ajax does not qualify for the CL I think he is sold in the summer
Mokio (6.5) - on for the injured Regeer and did a good job
Dolberg (5.5) - on for Konadu but didn't do much
Gaaei (5.5) - any time the opponents go down his side, I wait for the mistake to happen; fortunately, he was OK
Fitz-Jim (NR) - on late
Bounida (NR) - on late but did show some flash with the ball

Away to Feyenoord next week and we'll see if the magic is really there or if we will be fooled yet again

[Amol]

First game this season where I saw everyone being alert and fighting for the ball. This season has been so bad, that even the slightest glimmer of hope makes me happy.

The team wasted 2-3 golden chances at the start of the 2nd half IIRC and I was starting to get worried.

[Amol]

A bit unhappy with Paes choosing long balls over passing out the ball, but Garcia already called that out and said that they'll be working on that.

[Orange14]

Twente shut out at home by Utrecht 0-2. Ajax in 4th place, 3 points ahead of Twente. What a crazy league the Eredivisie is!!

[SPL]

NEC beating PSV was a bad result for us but we have hard games coming up. If we dont beat Feyenoord we can give up any hope of 2nd place .