AZ defeated Ajax 2-0 at home. Both goals were scored by Ruben van Bommel, who gave the Alkmaarders the victory. The difference with number five Ajax in the Premier League has increased to six points.
John van ‘t Schip pulled a rabbit out of the hat and opted for a line-up with five defenders, partly due to the absence of Steven Berghuis. At AZ, the line-up was unchanged after the away match against Fortuna Sittard. Ruben van Bommel was thus again preferred to Myron van Brederode. Van Bommel paid off Maarten Martens’ confidence with a quick goal. He was given too much space and simply pushed the ball behind goalkeeper Diant Ramaj: 1-0.
AZ was given wings by the quick goal and seemed to quickly expand the margin against a poor Ajax. Kristijan Belic narrowly missed the Amsterdam team’s goal. The home team collapsed a bit and that created a chance for Ajax through Anton Gaaei.
The young Dane shot straight at goalie Mathew Ryan. He also played a dramatic match and was put out of his misery just before half-time. Van Bommel had his second goal on the shoe moments before, but his effort went just wide.
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Van Bommel’s second goal came in the second half. The start of the second half was also not of a high level. Mayckel Lahdo handed the ball to Van Bommel on a silver platter. The attacker scored his second goal with a dry slide and plunged Ajax even more into mourning: 2-0.
The young attacker’s second goal seemed to quickly decide the game. Despite the disappointing level of both teams, Brian Brobbey seemed to restore the tension just before the end. The chunky striker scored beautifully, but his goal was disallowed for offside by VAR.
With the victory, AZ has six points more than number five Ajax. The Amsterdam team will play against FC Utrecht at home next Sunday, while AZ will visit Excelsior Rotterdam on Saturday evening.
AZ setup: Ryan; Sugawara, Goes, Bazoer (Martins Indi/83), Møller Wolfe; Clasie, De Wit, Belic (Lahdo/67); Mijnans (Van Brederode/83), Pavlidis, Van Bommel (Poku/84)
Ajax line-up: Ramaj; Gaaei (Kaplan/36), Rensch, Hato, Sutalo, Sosa; Van den Boomen (Mannsverk/80), Tahirovic (Akpom/64), Taylor, Hlynsson (Rijkhoff/80), Brobbey