Ajax became champion of the Netherlands for the 36th time on Wednesday. The team of trainer Erik ten Hag secured the title by winning 5-0 against sc Heerenveen in the Johan Cruijff ArenA.
The championship game was never really exciting. After nineteen minutes Nicolás Tagliafico made the 1-0 for Ajax and by halftime it was already 3-0. Steven Berghuis scored in the 33rd minute and five minutes later Sébastien Haller converted a penalty.
In the second half, Ajax played the game out calmly, also because Heerenveen was unable to hurt the Eredivisie leader. Five minutes before the end, Brian Brobbey made the 4-0 and the final chord was by Edson Álvarez (5-0) in the ninetieth minute.
PSV meanwhile won 3-2 against NEC, but because of Ajax’s victory, that no longer had any influence on the title race. With one more round to go, the gap remains four points.
The 36th national title is the third and last in the era of Ten Hag, who was appointed by Ajax halfway through the 2017/2018 season. The Amsterdam club also conquered two KNVB cups and a Johan Cruijff Scale in that period.
Program round 33
- Ajax-sc Heerenveen 5-0
- PSV-NEC 3-2
- Go Ahead Eagles-Feyenoord 0-1
- FC Twente-FC Groningen 3-0
- FC Utrecht-AZ 2-2
- Fortuna Sittard-Vitesse 1-2
- RKC Waalwijk-Heracles 2-0
- SC Cambuur-Willem II 1-1
- Sparta-PEC Zwolle 2-0
Tadic gives penalty to Haller
After a minute of silence for former Ajax players Jody Lukoki (29) and Henk Groot (84) who died this week, the team from Amsterdam immediately took the initiative against Heerenveen, as expected. It took until the nineteenth minute for the first big chance, but then it was immediately hit.
Noussair Mazraoui just kept the ball in and his cross came to Dusan Tadic, who custom-served the steaming Tagliafico. The Argentinian beat Heerenveen goalkeeper Erwin Mulder with a slider in the far corner (1-0).
Fifteen minutes later it was already 2-0. Jurriën Timber put back and Berghuis tapped in, removing the tension from the game. It was even 3-0 before half-time. After a foul on Berghuis, Tadic left the penalty to Haller in the 38th minute, who made no mistake. It was the Eredivisie top scorer’s first goal in six games.
Mazraoui gets public change
Because of the large lead, Ajax was able to play without nerves after the break, although Berghuis did miss a huge opportunity in the second minute of the second half. He shot for almost empty target.
There was also time and space for other things. Mazraoui, who goes to Bayern Munich on a free transfer, received a public change. And the moment Heerenveen finally seemed to create danger – Anthony Musaba shot the post – the flag was flagged for offside.
Twenty minutes before the end, the fanatical Ajax supporters set off massive fireworks to celebrate the title. Meanwhile, Kenneth Taylor shot just over and an attempt by substitute Mohammed Kudus also failed. The bottom of the bar saved Heerenveen.
In the final phase it was still hit twice, which gave the championship match more shine. Substitute Brobbey scored a rebound in the 85th minute after an attempt by another substitute, Mohamed Daramy, was reversed. The 5-0 in the ninetieth minute belonged to Álvarez, after which the party started in the ArenA.