Klaassen keeps Ajax on the title race with a tap and bow ball
Davy Klaassen brought leader Ajax closer to the 36th national title during the home game against PEC Zwolle (3-0) with a nice bow ball. “It’s all about one thing now and that’s the championship scale,” said the midfielder after being voted best player of the game. “Everything has to give way to that.”
It had been a while since Klaassen could look at the scoreboard after 80 minutes of football and saw a 3-0 lead. Ajax celebrated its fourteenth victory of the last fifteen matches in the Eredivisie against PSV. But the last few weeks have been difficult. The leader only decided the seven league games for the duel with PEC in the final phase. In six of those matches, the difference was ultimately only one goal.
“Of course we also want to win all matches 5-0”, Klaassen said. “But of course it doesn’t work that way. No club in Europe does that. We are always critical of ourselves and have also seen in recent weeks that things have to get better. But we always won. It was therefore not the case that we were in a were awake.”
‘Nice feeling’
Last week, 29-year-old Klaassen realized that Ajax was going to play football with two strikers against PEC Zwolle. “I thought for a moment, what are we going to do now”, he laughed. “But I think this worked out well against PEC Zwolle. We were given so much space. I had the feeling from the opening phase that it would be okay.”
Yet Ajax only led 1-0 halfway through. Dusan Tadic scored in his 124th consecutive game for his club in the Eredivisie. “He is an example for all of us,” said Klaassen. “We see every day what he does for it and what he looks like. That is hard work. It pays off.”
After the break, Klaassen ended up in the spotlight with his two goals. The midfielder was first in the right place after Jurriën Timber had shot at the post. He then surprised the not too tall goalkeeper Kostas Lamprou with a nice bow ball. “I had already handed it in a few times before that, but those guys kept shooting at the keeper. I thought, I’ll do it myself. Rub a little inside and spoon, so to speak. I hit it perfectly. After those 3 -0, the game had been played. This gives a good feeling for our last three games.”