The first half hour Ajax had trouble with SC Cambuur’s yellow-blue wall. Then two goals from the outstanding Steven Bergwijn laid the foundation for a simple victory. Goals from Devyne Rensch and substitute Mohamed Kudus made it 4-0.
The last few days in Amsterdam there was little talk about the match against Cambuur, but mainly about transfer troubles. Edson Álvarez refused to train on Thursday because of a possible transfer to Chelsea. Remarkably enough, that was no reason for Alfred Schreuder to let the Mexican start from the couch. Acquisitions Florian Grillitsch and Lucas Ocampos were on the side of the field.
Against expectations, the first big chance was for the Frisians. Roberts Uldriķis prepared the ball for Michael Breij in the penalty area, but he shot the ball over the goal from close range. The game then went back and forth without any great chances for the team from Amsterdam. Despite this, Steven Bergwijn broke the spell after 35 minutes. A pass from Steven Berghuis was poorly cleared by Marco Tol, after which Bergwijn scored: 1-0.
Watch Bergwijn’s cannonball below:
Cambuur didn’t get much time to recover. The goalscorer was given all the time and space, as a result of which he shot brilliantly from afar, 2-0. In the second half, Álvarez remained on the bench, his replacement was Kenneth Taylor. While Mohamed Kudus came in for Brian Brobbey. The Ghanaian, like Álvarez, had refused to train earlier in the week. Everton had reported for him.
Substitutes important
Kudus immediately created danger, but his shot was just deflected. Devyne Rensch scored – with some fortune – Ajax’s third goal. Taylor’s bet came through Rensch’s heel: 3-0. In the end, Kudus was able to cheer after a wonderful assist from Calvin Bassey, 4-0. In the final phase, Schreuder allowed acquisition Ocampos to make his debut. The victory of Ajax was never in danger anymore.
The focus of the team from Amsterdam will be on Wednesday. The national champion will then start a new campaign in the Champions League from 6.45 pm. The opponent in their own Johan Cruijff Arena is Rangers.
Ajax setup: feather; Rensch; Timber (Sánchez/79); bassey; Blind; Alvarez (Taylor/46); Klaassen; mountain house; Tadic (Ocampos/80); Brobbey (Kudus/46); Mountain wine (Conceição/61)