Ajax has been hit by the knife on a visit to Union Berlin. The team from Amsterdam lost 3-1 to the Germans in Stadion An der alten Försterei. As a result, Ajax has been eliminated from the Europa League and only has a view of the national title and the cup.
Ajax knew in advance that it could play in East Berlin. Trainer John Heitinga surprised by passing Owen Wijndal and starting with Calvin Bassey as left back. Edson Álvarez, who was a doubtful case, started in midfield. It was interesting that Heitinga let his team play with three defenders in possession so that an extra man in midfield was released.
Wrong lot
Ajax started the match a lot more convincingly than last week. It was in control in the first fifteen minutes and got the first chance with a header from Mohammed Kudus. When Union Berlin got a corner after 17 minutes, it was immediately wrong. Danilo Doekhi headed the ball against Calvin Bassey’s arm and the referee put the ball on the spot after countless looks back. Robin Knoche then shot through the hands of goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli and hit the inside of the post: 1-0.
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After the goal, Union Berlin was better in the game and Ajax had trouble creating opportunities. Defensively, the home team had it in order, which resulted in a wall that Ajax had difficulty playing through. Towards the break Ajax suddenly got the chances. An Álvarez header from a corner and a shot from Kudus from an offside position were the first pinpricks. In the 42nd minute, Ajax thought they would equalize via Kudus. The Ghanaian tapped in the rebound from Steven Bergwijn’s shot, but was offside. On the other hand, it saw Geronimo Rulli go over Josip Juranovic’s bet, which suddenly made it 2-0.
Just believe
The team from Amsterdam started the second half unchanged. And it started the way Ajax wanted it to. Kudus tapped within two minutes from Bergwijn’s cross and brought his team back into the game: 2-1. The joy was short-lived, however, as Danilo Doekhi scored the 3-1 for Union Berlin just two minutes later. The defender who played in the youth of Ajax hit hard from a corner.
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Doekhi’s goal seemed to be the final blow for Ajax, which then got one more great chance. After a nice attack, Kudus shot just wide, but after the miss the belief in a good outcome seemed to be gone. A final offensive seemed to get underway with Lorenzo Lucca within the lines, but to no avail. To make matters worse, Álvarez also ran into a red card after receiving two yellow cards from the referee.
Ajax will play against Vitesse in the competition in Arnhem on Sunday. The team from Amsterdam is chasing leader Feyenoord in the premier league. The gap with the team from Rotterdam is now only three points.
Setup Ajax: Rulli; Rensch (Conceição/84), Timber, Alvarez, Bassey; Taylor, Klaassen (Brobbey/64), Berghuis; Kudus, Tadic, Mountain wine (Lucca/80)
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