Ajaxtalk

Well a comfortable win but this should have been 6 or 7-0. They had 2 chances with Becker having the speed to beat Sinkgraven.Still need a proper left back.

An entertaining performance by us and pressure on Fword

A relatively easy 3-0 win over ADO with some very nice forward play 22 shots with 7 of them on goal. The back line players all had nice matches and the dysfunctional midfield continued to be dysfunctional. Special shout out for Dolberg who was pushed and grabbed all match long but worked especially hard and showed some very good ball skills. Onana's goal was really never threatened.

Why wasn't Riedewald used as a sub for either Schöne or Viergever?????

Player Ratings:

Onana (6.5) - other than a couple of sweeper keeper interventions had little to do
Sinkgraven (7) - very fine match; didn't have to defend much but offensively was quite good
Viergever (7.5) - a nice header that hit the crossbar and defended well
Sanchez (7.5) - one poor give away led to a breakaway for ADO but otherwise won every intervention
Veltman (7) - got beat one time but otherwise solid
Schöne (5.5) - very nice free kick but was he influential beyond that? I think not.
Ziyech (6.5) - some very nice play but too many errant passes to warrant a higher rating
el Capitan (5) - very average game from a very average player
Younes (7) - not nearly as selfish today but could have done better on two decent chances
Dolberg (8) - classic center forward play and good that he's under a long term contract
Kluivert (7.5) - Anwar who? Great play from a 17 year old; better yet, just great play
van de Beek (6) - on for Ziyech and had some good chances
Cassiera (6) - solid as a sub and almost got on the score sheet

On the road to Roda next Sunday

Some thoughts from the game:
Having a player like Kluivert who can destabilize a defense by being able to run at, through and around it, really made a difference in the entire tone of the game -- totally defeated the 'park the bus and counterattack' strategy that so many teams use against us.
Ziyech scored a really nice goal, but other than that he didn't offer very much -- and why do they keep on letting him take free kicks?
Sanchez is an absolute standout on defense -- I also like the way he steps up with the ball to beat the pressure defense.

I am a bit hard on Sinkgraven but he was out run twice by Becker but didn't have any defending to do.

Dolberg outstanding and Kluivert looks a real prospect and a real winger.Created more than El Ghazi had done all season and when Traore is back Younes must be a sub.Kluivert is already our best winger. Still need to buy a left footed left winger.

Midfield Donny is ready to start but Klaassen wont be dropped.

Wow really good, Ajax finally winning a game again that they played better without a doubt. Controversial statistics round up:

With an assist, a goal and hitting the woodwork twice, no doubt Kasper Dolberg was the Man of the Match. Great game from the baby-faced killer.

Hakim Ziyech shot 6 times at goal, twice on target including the goal. He's kind of trigger happy. He did have two through balls today and 6 key passes. However, that give away on our side of the pitch in the first half...not good.

Only Onana (29) and Dolberg (46), had less touches than Davy Klaassen (51). He had an assist, sure, but it was from a header after a corner, not from open play. On the other hand, he did put in 3 successful tackles and 1 interception, and had a 93% pass completion. Is he secretly our Sergio Busquets???

Ajax made 26 crosses, Justin Kluviert contributed with 6 of those, more than any other player (except for Ziyech who also had six but most of his came from corners). The importance of playing with an actual winger! This will help Ajax's game enormously.

Younes still the dribble king of the Eredivise, today with 6, although he attempted 10. Only 1 out of his 36 passes was actually a key pass. Not a fan of the inverted winger, I'm just not.

Veltman again tackle king with 4, but was dribbled past 3 times, he has to be careful not giving away his back. Veltman also won 6 aerial duels. Viergever also prolific on the air with 4 aerial duels won. Sanchez had 2 tackles, 2 interceptions and 5 clearances (most out of any defender). Sanchez played the libero role, with a total of 80 accurate passes.

rjf1 schreef:Some thoughts from the game:
Having a player like Kluivert who can destabilize a defense by being able to run at, through and around it, really made a difference in the entire tone of the game -- totally defeated the 'park the bus and counterattack' strategy that so many teams use against us.

rjf1 schreef: Lille must be kicking themselves for taking the wrong right winger.

haha.
Lille has nothing to choose for.

When Justin was a 15 year old Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea had there big contracts already ready. But Justin Kluivert is not for sale.