Ajax used the home match against Excelsior to get rid of some frustration about the disappointing results of the last few weeks. The champion recaptured the lead of the Eredivisie with a big victory (7-1). Given the many chances, a double-digit win would have been possible.
Ajax leads the competition after ten rounds with 25 points, followed by PSV (24 points), Feyenoord (23 points) and AZ (23 points). Alfred Schreuder’s team once again recorded a big win with Brian Brobbey in the lead. The 20-year-old Amsterdammer returned as a basic player after eight games. He was preferred over Mohammed Kudus, who was allowed to start against Rangers FC a month and a half ago. The Ghanaian played so well in that game that trainer Alfred Schreuder let him stand. With Kudus in the center of the attack, Ajax still won well against Heerenveen (5-0), but then only triumphed once in six games.
Brobbey was constantly playable against Excelsior but unhappy with finishing. He should have scored more than twice. Ajax started with Dusan Tadic as the left winger and Steven Bergwijn on the right flank. Tadic in particular was visibly happy with that. He ushered in one possibility after another. Bergwijn only noticed when he was allowed to play on the left after Tadic was substituted. Davy Klaassen and Jorge Sánchez replaced the injured Kenneth Taylor and Devyne Rensch.
Sánchez scores his first goal for Ajax
Ajax created a chance after a chance, but goalkeeper Stijn van Gassel prevented Excelsior from resting ‘only’ with a 3-0 deficit with some fine reflexes. He reacted attentively to two headers from Edson Álvarez and also kept Brobbey from scoring twice. Van Gassel also choked on a shot by Steven Berghuis, so that Sánchez could score his first goal for Ajax (1-0). Berghuis and Brobbey allowed the scoring to increase further before half time.
Ajax not only played sloppy, but also regularly lost the ball unnecessarily. Unlike AZ, Go Ahead Eagles, FC Volendam and Liverpool and Napoli in recent weeks, Excelsior could not punish that. With Owen Wijndal for Daley Blind, Ajax happily continued to miss opportunities in the second half. Brobbey, Tadic and Bergwijn and the substitute Kudus also increased the score further. Nikolas Agrafiotis determined the final score on behalf of Excelsior in the final minute.