Ajax falls into chaos in the final phase against FC Utrecht and is now seventeenth

Ajax coach Maurice Steijn stands alone on the field in the Galgenwaard stadium, just after half past three on Sunday afternoon. He is trying to cope with the 4-3 defeat there, he will say later. Disbelief can be read in his look at what he has seen this afternoon. So much has gone wrong – defensively, in the build-up, in attack, in communication, in tempo.

Ajax descends into chaos, in a second half with six goals and two temporary stoppages because plastic cups were thrown on the field. In that hectic phase, Ajax loses control of itself and of the opponent: FC Utrecht, also in crisis, still number eighteen in the Eredivisie at kick-off.

While Steijn looks ahead, captain Steven Bergwijn tries to talk to supporters in the away section. But what do you say at such a moment, after such a performance, at this Ajax? Not won eight games in a row. Dropped one spot to seventeenth place, a direct relegation position, with five points from seven matches. Ajax, which will dominate the Eredivisie until mid-2022, is 22 points behind leader PSV, its opponent in Eindhoven next Sunday.

Steijn’s already shaky position will be further questioned. For a decision on a possible dismissal, Louis van Gaal, who has been advisor on football technical matters to the supervisory board since the beginning of October, will be taken into account.

Steijn said on Sunday afternoon that he repeatedly felt “support” from the club, although he was referring to the situation before the match against FC Utrecht. He has spoken to Van Gaal a number of times in the past two weeks, when Ajax was off due to the international break. “Those were pleasant conversations,” he says. “I remain combative.”

Steijn says he still sees “resilience” in the team, which managed to overcome a 2-0 deficit – only to lose later. When asked whether he would be surprised if he were fired from Ajax, he told sports channel ESPN: “If Ajax believes that that is the solution to achieve results again, who am I to stop that.” A little later, at the press conference, he says he does not have “the recipe” to “turn it around.” “All I can do is keep hammering, keep training.”

Mismatch

Recently leaked It has already been stated that Van Gaal would have suggested that Ajax bring in Mitchell van der Gaag when the club says goodbye to Steijn. Van der Gaag is now assistant to coach Erik ten Hag at Manchester United. He previously worked as coach of Jong Ajax and as assistant to Ten Hag in Amsterdam, before they made the move to Manchester. It is expected that it will not be easy to free Van der Gaag, who has an important position in United’s technical staff, from the English top club.

Ajax coach Maurice Steijn during the match against FC Utrecht.

The question is whether Steijn still has control over the selection. Whether his technical staff and players speak the same language. Ajax keeps making the same mistakes under pressure, with Steijn often saying afterwards that explicit attention was paid to those tactical matters in the training and discussions.

This mismatch becomes most clear at the apotheosis of a football fight that is memorable – due to the score progression, from 2-0 to 2-3 to 4-3 – and at the same time, poor due to the many mistakes. The ninetieth minute is running, the score is 3-3, Ajax is building up at the back. During the interruption shortly before, Steijn said in the locker room that they were going for at least a draw – “cherish that point,” he explains later.

Almost everyone at the front is thinking about Ajax. At the back, central defender Jorrel Hato passes to his Croatian colleague, Josip Sutalo. He gives a somewhat wild crossball, unclear to whom, and it just ends up on FC Utrecht striker Isac Lidberg. Utrecht takes over directly, via Jens Toornstra, from Marouan Azarkan, who serves the profound Oscar Fraulo. He gets plenty of space from Ajax midfielder Benjamin Tahirovc, Fraulo gracefully ‘chips’ over substitute goalkeeper Diant Ramaj: 4-3. The Galgenwaard in ecstasy.

Steijn calls that goal “very sad” because they have talked “a lot” about these types of game situations. It’s all about: how are you organized defensively – residual defense in jargon – if you lose the ball during the build-up? According to Steijn, the agreement is that one of the two wing defenders always remains at the back when Ajax is building up, so that the defense is sufficiently supported at all times. “Despite the bad pass, they are both gone again. That is something we unfortunately fall into today.”

Doubtful

Center defender Sutalo’s unrest during that pass is characteristic of Ajax’s fragility. The structure is questionable in phases, and it does not help that there is little movement at the front, which means that hardly any players become available. Sutalo, the top purchase of this summer with 20.5 million euros, often seems not to know what to do when in possession of the ball, and then passes ‘safely’ to Hato.

At the same time, Ajax is not succeeding enough in putting pressure on FC Utrecht. Like in the 38th minute, when striker Brian Brobbey loses the ball and then makes no effort to regain it. He stands still, looks at the ball.

And prior to FC Utrecht’s opening goal – a great long-range shot by Ryan Flamingo shortly before half-time – defender Modibo Sagnan is able to push the ball up unhindered for ten seconds, writes An VIjournalist on X, formerly Twitter. No Ajax player puts pressure on him.

Steijn stands up from his dugout after that goal and tries to bring energy and positivity with arm gestures. But shortly after half time it is already 2-0. Tahirovic makes a childish jump at an FC Utrecht corner, far too little to keep recognized heading specialist Mike van der Hoorn from scoring.

Within a period of thirteen minutes it is suddenly 2-3. First, Kristian Hlynsson, a nineteen-year-old Icelandic midfielder, scores twice on a pass from left back Borna Sosa. The second one in particular has a beautiful, controlled finish with the inside of the foot. And from a penalty, after Hugo Novoa tapped Brobbey, Bergwijn gave Ajax the lead. The discharge is enormous, just before the exit.

Distressingly passive defending

But just when Ajax has it under control, it doesn’t push through. Look back at the 3-3 a few times and you will see where Ajax is fundamentally wrong. No coordination and distressing passive defense. Flamingo dives into the depths, Sosa and Kenneth Taylor let him run, after which Toornstra shoots in completely free. Nobody gets off at Toornstra – in this case Sutalo should have done that. All defenders only look at the ball, not where possible opponents are. It is these kinds of basic things that Ajax is not making any progress in.

Those problems still seemed far away when Ajax players Steven Berghuis and Carlos Forbs walked across the field yawning in their training clothes on Sunday morning, more than an hour before kick-off. Almost all players have earphones. Captain Bergwijn looks away from the camera hours later when he is asked about stability within this team. And then finally says: “It’s hard.”