The first defeat of the new season for Ajax is a fact. The friendly match against Anderlecht in Brussels ended in 3-0. Former striker Kasper Dolberg, Oliver Aertssen (own goal) and Benito Raman determined the final score.
Due to the news of the agreement between Ajax and Fulham FC about Calvin Bassey, trainer Maurice Steijn did not want to take any risks with the defender. “This morning we talked to Calvin about the interest. In any case, we don’t want to risk him getting injured. We have to see which way it goes in the coming days,” he said at Ziggo Sports. Without Bassey, Ajax fell behind in Brussels after twelve minutes.
Former striker Kasper Dolberg made the verdict. The Dane cut Oliver Aertssen out and scored Geronimo Rulli: 1-0. The Belgians had a good opportunity through Francis Amuzu, but Rulli was able to turn. Steven Bergwijn created a good opportunity before the break. On instructions from Mohammed Kudus, he shot the ball into the far corner. Goalkeeper Maxime Dupé dived the ball out of the goal.
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Ajax showed a completely different face offensively in the second half. That was heralded by a splitting pass from Branco van den Boomen, after which Kenneth Taylor hit the post. Anass Salah-Eddine, Steven Bergwijn and Mohammed Kudus then failed to find the target. The Ghanaian also hit the crossbar. The equalizer therefore seemed to hang in the air, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Due to a misunderstanding between substitute Jay Gorter and Aertssen, the defender worked the ball into the goal: 2-0. Both teams became dangerous in the final phase. First Kristian Arnstad shot full at Gorter from a distance and substitute Mohamed Daramy could not outwit Dupé in the counterattack. Benito Raman managed to do that in injury time: 3-0.
The team from Amsterdam will go on a training camp to the German Herzogenaurach from Monday. To conclude, there is a practice match against FC Augsburg on Saturday 29 July.
Setup Ajax: Rulli (Gorter/67); Rensch, Aertssen, Hato, Salah-Eddine; Van den Boomen, Taylor, Klaassen (Tahirovic/46); Kudus, Brobbey (Conceicao/68). Mountain wine (Daramy/75)