Ajax again far too strong for weak Rangers and can go to Europa League

The smoke clouds from the fireworks in the always atmospheric Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow had barely lifted when Ajax took the lead. A quick attack on the left via Owen Wijndal, who started in the starting lineup, came at the feet of Steven Berghuis. The midfielder shot the ball with some fortune past goalkeeper Allan McGregor of the Scots: 0-1.

Top scorer

Not much later, former Rangers player Calvin Bassey had to get the ball off the line on behalf of Ajax after a dangerous cross. Alfred Schreuder’s team simply remained upright in defense and even made it 0-2 after half an hour of play. Wijndal again fought his way through the defense of Rangers from the left and served Mohammed Kudus into the penalty area. The Ghanaian’s bet was still touched and was therefore untenable for McGregor. It was the fourth goal for Kudus in this Champions League campaign by the team from Amsterdam.

After the break Ajax remained the better party and liked to play forward. Ten minutes after tea, substitute Devyne Rensch served Kudus with a perfect pass, who then also shot in nicely. Kudus, however, was half a foot offside and therefore the goal was rejected by the VAR.

In the last quarter of the game, Rangers tried to force something, but the team of trainer Giovanni van Bronckhorst was unable to make a fist. Five minutes before the end, Rangers still got a penalty. Edson Alvarez committed a foul in the penalty area and James Tavenier scored from the spot.

cold-blooded

However, Ajax was not satisfied with the minimal lead. Two minutes after the Rangers goal, Ajax struck for a third time. Francisco Conceição had just been cold for a minute when he was served by Dusan Tadic with a beautiful pass. The young Portuguese then finished off coolly and shot the 1-3 final score on the scoreboard.

Due to the win, Ajax definitively finishes third in group A of the Champions League. The team from Amsterdam will therefore play in the Europa League after the winter break. Next Sunday, the next beautiful poster is on the program for Ajax. Then PSV comes to the Johan Cruijff Arena.

Ajax setup: feather; Sanchez, Timber, Bassey, Wijndal (Rensch/44); Álvarez, Berghuis (Klaassen/55), Taylor (Grillitsch/87); Tadic, Kudus, Mountain wine (Conceição/87)