Feb 25, 2024 at 6:41 PM Update: 2 days ago
Ajax received a heavy blow from AZ on Sunday in the battle for fourth place in the Eredivisie. The team from Amsterdam, who surprisingly played in a formation with five defenders, lost 2-0 in Alkmaar without a chance.
Ruben van Bommel scored AZ’s opening goal after eight minutes of play, by shooting from the edge of the penalty area. After the break, the son of former professional Mark van Bommel scored his second with a neat slide.
Ajax defender Anton Gaaei made a mistake with the opening goal. The Dane was substituted before half time by Ajax coach John van ‘t Schip after a weak performance, something that also happened to him earlier this season in the match against Feyenoord.
Gaaei was deployed as an extra defender in the 5-3-2 formation in which Ajax played. The team from Amsterdam, who played without the injured Steven Berghuis and Jordan Henderson (who was on the bench), gave several big chances despite their defensive playing style and hardly created any opportunities themselves.
Ajax suffered a hard blow in the battle for fourth place in the Eredivisie. With eleven matches to go, number four AZ is six points ahead of Ajax. Ajax did not win any of the last four competition matches.
Right back Anton Gaaei was replaced by Ahmetcan Kaplan after a weak performance after 36 minutes. Photo: Pro Shots
Van ‘t Schip turns it around
In recent months, Van ‘t Schip remained confident that he could be successful with the ailing Ajax in a 4-3-3 system. But after the match against FK Bodø/Glimt on Thursday, in which Ajax defended like a glorified pupil team and conceded countless big chances, Van ‘t Schip had seen enough.
The coach opted for a formation with five defenders to create more defensive stability. Gaaei was therefore deployed as a fifth defender. Kenneth Taylor had a starting spot in the three-man midfield. Up front, Kristian Hlynsson and Brian Brobbey formed the Ajax attack, due to the absence of Berghuis.
But no matter how many defenders a trainer fields; You cannot play football against personal mistakes and weak individuals. This became apparent several times before the soulless Ajax. AZ had a number of great chances, all led by uncertain interventions from Josip Sutalo, Jorrel Hato and Gaaei, among others.
The latter’s mistake was the basis of the early 1-0 for AZ. The Dane started the match weakly, after which Van Bommel picked up the ball and hit it hard in the bottom left corner: 1-0. After Gaaei had initiated an (unsuccessful) AZ counter with a clumsy loss of ball, he was taken aside by Van ‘t Schip.
Ruben van Bommel scored both goals for AZ. Photo: Pro Shots
Ajax also weak after the break
The early substitution of the defender, who was positioned as an extra lock on the door, said a lot about Ajax’s disastrous afternoon. The team also looked idealess and uncertain in the new formation. Moreover, Ajax itself hardly had any chances, not even with debutant Ahmetcan Kaplan as Gaaei’s replacement.
Hlynsson came closest to scoring for Ajax from the left side of the penalty area, but collided with AZ goalkeeper Matthew Ryan. This also happened after AZ had taken a 2-0 lead through Van Bommel. The attacker was given plenty of space to accept a cross from Mayckel Lahdo and scored accurately.
The worn-out Ajax tried to force something through a final offensive with Chuba Akpom and Julian Rijkhoff, among others. The team even scored through Brobbey, but the goal was disallowed for offside.
In Alkmaar, a new chapter was added to Ajax’s disastrous season, which saw fourth place disappear from view.
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