What does the 3-0 win over PEC Zwolle say?
That Ajax is on the mend. Which in itself sounds crazy for a team that has taken 36 of 39 points since the winter break. Four points ahead of PSV, plus a better goal difference with three games to go; that can’t really be wrong, the public realized. ‘Stand in front of the champion’, it sounded on Saturday evening in the last ten minutes in the Johan Cruijff Arena. The first victory with three goals difference since February 13 came about through three skilfully rounded outbreaks, Ajax looked more and more comfortable playing football. Nice for the Ajax supporters now that the denouement of the competition is imminent.
However, players and coach will not be completely reassured. Ajax lost its head earlier this season when the sky contained the necessary shades of pink. It was eliminated by Benfica in the eighth finals of the Champions League and lost the cup final to PSV. In both matches Ajax clumsily relinquished a predominance and lead.
The competition has been extremely rough in recent months. Ajax was like a screw that had to be squeezed through a nail hole. Usually this only happened at the last minute. Relief was therefore a trump card on Saturday evening. After all, PEC has been transformed from a given patient into a team with self-confidence, with a playing plan in which there is no room for fear, not even in a full Arena. Thanks to the interim Dick Schreuder, salient enough the brother of the top candidate to become head coach of Ajax next season, Alfred Schreuder.
What impression does Erik ten Hag make?
Ten Hag leaves for Manchester United. It makes him mentally independent, he even dared to let go of the tactical principles of Ajax against PEC in the house of 4-3-3 guru Johan Cruijff.
The form crisis in which Ajax was in plus the many injuries forced Ten Hag, he said, to opt for 4-4-2. Without the injured Antony and Mazraoui, the dreaded right flank of Ajax is paralyzed. Berghuis, who earned his transfer to Ajax as a right winger, is less profitable there than in midfield and started against PEC on the bench, just like breaker Álvarez.
The two strikers were Tadic and Haller, but in practice front midfielder Klaassen frequently appeared in the center of the front, so that Haller ended up on the right. With debutant Regeer as right back, that looked like a rather illogical combination. But thanks to the dynamism and class of midfielders Gravenberch, Kudus, Taylor and Klaassen, with the smart class player Tadic for that, Ajax eventually got the brutal PEC more and more in the hold, helped because the goals came at exactly the right time.
Which players are in shape?
Tadic played his 124th consecutive match for Ajax, the longest consecutive series of matches for an Ajax player ever. The 33-year-old Serb can call up form when the pressure is highest. Although the new tactic, in which he has a prominent voice, helped with that. ‘I was longing for some freedom. The last four or five games have been a bit static. This was nice, with more exercise,’ he said afterwards.
Klaassen also paid off, he was agile and ball-resistant, just like Taylor, who can just be a basic player next season. Ten minutes before the end, Klaassen got the audience in a championship atmosphere with a shot from just outside the penalty area that sailed into the intersection, after he had already tapped in the 2-0 shortly after the break. His last goal rivaled Tadic’s opening goal after half an hour; a lovely instep kick from the air in the far corner.
The once again sovereign centre-back Timber, the fifth Ajax player to whom Bayern Munich has eagerly turned after Mazraoui, Gravenberch, Antony and Haller, was also delighted. Barcelona is also in the market for a number of Ajax players, while Ten Hag will want to have some acquaintances move with them to make his life as United coach easier.
Ajax also has to make some big sales because of the expensive housekeeping, nothing is earned from the transfer-free Mazraoui and Onana.
Who makes the team vulnerable?
Perhaps those transfer troubles disrupt the mindset a bit. Onana lost his starting spot to 39-year-old Stekelenburg, but he looked mediocre a few times against PEC with high balls. Haller has had a bad shot for several games. But the sheer breadth of the selection pays off. Berghuis, Alvarez, Rensch, Ihattaren and Brobbey on the bench have suffered in times of a lot of injury; that’s luxury.
Which opponents are still on the program?
AZ-away (May 8), Heerenveen-home (May 11) and Vitesse-away (May 15). That sounds spicy and it is. AZ won in the Arena and is fighting for direct admission to European football. The revived Heerenveen can still make it to the play-offs for which Vitesse has already qualified. But in Arnhem Ajax actually hopes to have champagne on its feet. With two victories Ajax takes the scale anyway.