Thanks to goals from Kenneth Taylor, Youri Baas and Jay Enem, Ajax won 3-0 on Saturday afternoon against the Croatian NK Lokomotiva. Feyenoord also won an exhibition game later in the day: the team from Rotterdam was 1-2 too strong for Austrian national champion Red Bull Salzburg.
In the first half Ajax – with regulars such as Daley Blind, Davy Klaassen and Perr Schuurs in the base for the first time – was the better team against Lokomotiva, which finished fifth in the Croatian highest division last season. In the 17th minute, midfielder Kenneth Taylor opened the score by completing a fine combination. Five minutes before the break, left back Youri Baas made the 2-0 with a nice header.
Ajax coach Alfred Schreuder made several changes during halftime as well as during the second half. This is how Blind, Schuurs and Klaassen left the field. For a moment the second half seemed to end goalless, but in the 87th minute youth player Jay Enem made the final score 3-0 by tapping in from close range.
Ajax still played without acquisition Steven Bergwijn, who was a spectator at the game at De Toekomst. Mohamed Ihattaren, Steven Berghuis, Dusan Tadic and Lisandro Martínez also did not play.
It was Ajax’s second victory in this preparation. Earlier, the team from Amsterdam won against SV Meppen (3-0) and lost to SV Meppen (2-5). There are also practice matches with AS Eupen, Red Bull Salzburg, Eintracht Frankfurt and Shakhtar Donetsk.
The first official match will be played on Saturday 30 July: the match for the Johan Cruijff Scale against PSV.
For users of the app; tap this tweet to view the goal.
Feyenoord thanks to newcomer Taabouni along Red Bull Salzburg
Feyenoord also managed to win a practice match on Saturday afternoon, against Red Bull Salzburg. With new addition Danilo in the base for the first time, the Rotterdam team fell behind after a goal by Dijon Kameri after five minutes. Alireza Jahanbakhsh tied the score before half-time by finishing a cross from the side with his left leg.
After the break, Feyenoord was the better team against the Austrian national champion. Technician Mohamed Taabouni – who came over from AZ this summer – scored his first goal in the Feyenoord shirt by coming in and finishing in the short corner. He thus determined the final score at 1-2. Eight minutes before the end, Feyenoord had to deal with another setback, after newcomer Mats Wieffer had to leave the field on a stretcher.
Feyenoord comes back strongly with the victory from the heavy practice defeat against FC Copenhagen (0-7). After that match, Arne Slot indicated that he was “not shocked, but concerned” about the state of his team. The Rotterdammers also practice against Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, Olympique Lyonnais and NAC Breda.
Earlier in the day, Red Bull Salzburg played a friendly match against Mark van Bommel’s Royal Antwerp. In that game, the intended first team came into action. That match was won 2-1 by the Belgians, where Vincent Janssen and Emmanuel Emegha came into action.
For users of the app; tap this tweet to view the goal.