5 NOV 2014 Ajax - Barcelona CL Match Day #4

[Orange14]

Barcelona drop all points at home today against Celta de Vigo while Ajax somewhat unconvincingly beat Dordecht. What will happen on Wednesday? Our former vampire captain will make his return to the Arena and likely start for Barca.

[zeux]

Barcelona was quite dangerous against Celta. The ball just didn't go in.

I think we can see a charged Barca against Ajax, which will mean a different game than last year, I fear.

[Dave the mac]

Am looking forward to the match and to seeing Suarez back in the Arena. Hope the crowd gives him a good welcome for in spite of his issues he's fun to watch and one of my favs!
Ajax will need to play at their best, looks like Serero will be available.

[Manneken Pis]

I hear Serero and Siggy are in the starting line-up......

[Tom_]

Don't know if Suárez is playing but here's the expected lineup for Ajax:

I'm not watching this one so I'll keep my fingers crossed for a good result when I check the score later. Maybe we can still overhaul Barca and finish second...!

[paladinby]

We are down to 10 men already with Siggy in starting eleven.

[SPL]

If Siggy gets the winner tonight will he become a hero!! Still think we should play Milik but we will see. I am watching on sky tonight so hope you get decent streams.

[Ayman]

There was a very good spell for Ajax for about 5 minutes or so. At one point I wondered if i was watching the right game!!!

[Van basten]

Fuck you barca, fuck you cillesen.

[Orange14]

Pretty decent first have with some good defending given the talent of the opponent. Bad mistake by Cillessen (rarely does something this stupid) gives up the goal. Good offensive moves but we don't have anyone who has a good first touch. Really should have had something better on goal. Glad to see that players are looking upfield rather than passing back.

[paladinby]

The ref is just inadequate. We must pressure their fullback who are both yellow-carded and please take off Siggy, he's trying but Ajax is just a wrong team for him.

[Van basten]

If Siggy plays 90min today, i'll be forced to ask Frank, to leave the club after this season.

[SPL]

Stupid mistake by Cillessen,thought we have had some good moments.Still hope for a draw.

[Dave the mac]

I pretty good 1st half from Ajax...until the Barca goal. Thought Van Rhijn could have cleared the ball....

[SPL]

Well Barca dominated the second half although once Veltman got his red that was it.Milik should have scored with the header but I am not sure he actually touched the ball again.

[paladinby]

We did reasonably well in the first half, Milik almost scored and then it was over after the red card. Serero should have fouled earlier in that moment, but he doesn't know how to play defensive midfielder so no blame on him. Crap just happens sometime. We were also not awarded 100% penalty but refs help only others.

[Orange14]

Well they played with heart and passion but just don't have the level of talent or experience to play at this level. Poorly officiated match with some really dicey Yellow cards. I thought Boilesen was fouled at the midway line when the ball was turned over that led to the second goal but the whistle was not blown. Defensively the team was pretty well organized though there were some last ditch tackles that kept Barca from scoring. Ajax did get the ball into the box but just not enough skill in tight situation to create anything. Milik had a decent shot on goal but it was always going to take a perfect header given the angle. Too bad Veltman got sent off as he was really good on defense tonight.

Player Ratings:

Cillessen (6.5) - good match except for the bonehead play that led to the first goal; made some tough saves on some great goal scorers
Boilesen (5.5) - again a little Jekyll/Hyde performance; did well going forward and had some good defensive plays but needs to be more consistent
Moisander (6.5) - defended well and was good on the ball
Veltman (6) - low points because of the two Yellows and the second one was really weak when Messi flopped under a weak push
van Rhijn (6.5) - decent enough game
Serero (6) - better from him and finally looked to go forward
Klaassen (4.5) - worked very hard but it wasn't enough as too many poor passes resulted in turnovers
Andersen (6) - still trying to figure out when to carry the ball and when to pass but decision making is better
Schöne (6) - really worked hard on the wing but he's a half step too slow at this level
Sigthorrsson (3.5) - the less said the better
el Ghazi (7) - sure he still makes some poor decisions but I didn't see him let up one bit during the match
Riedewald (5.5) - good experience against world class competition
Denswil (5.5) - great saving tackle to prevent goal number three
Milik (6) - good on the ball and had a decent chance from an awkward angle with a header

Still have a chance for the Europa League and it looks like it will take a win or draw against Apoel to do that depending on what happens in the Apoel/Barca match.

[SPL]

Fair assessments Orange ,do you want to include Milik.!

[Orange14]

Fair assessments Orange ,do you want to include Milik.!

I knew I missed something. Thanks, I just added him. At least he has a decent touch on the ball unlike Siggie.

[zeux]

Fair assessments Orange ,do you want to include Milik.!

Very interesting that in the Dutch section Klaassen is praised as one of three players performing best.

[Orange14]

Fair assessments Orange ,do you want to include Milik.!

Very interesting that in the Dutch section Klaassen is praised as one of three players performing best.

I think he was one of the hardest workers but had too many bad passes which was quite surprising and couldn't deal with the ball at his foot inside the box. He was also too static on the right and didn't help out by creating a passing lane when El Ghazi got forward with the ball. He's still young of course but I guess I was just disappointed in his play. But as with everything this is just my opinion. Overall it was a decent enough match against a top flight team that had something to prove after two straight defeats.

[Manneken Pis]

Thoughts:

Cillessen : Great performance spoiled by one stupid error.
Veltman : Actually had a good game overall, against a team with Barça's front line always in danger of getting yellows.
El Ghazi : a hot head, and a liability (could have had a straight red for the elbow), and not the first time.
Serero : Probably has a role to play but not as defensive midfield.
Siggy : Confidence totally gone, should lose starting place to Milik

[Philippe]

Worth reading (from Het Parool) :

[SPL]

Seems only Frank de Boer thinks Siggy is worth playing.

I was surprised that when Veltman went off Frank bought on Riedewald as CD and not Denswil.Ok Denswil came on 7 mins later and played CD with Jairo reverting to DM .In those 7 mins we did let in a second but not sure Denswil would have made any difference .

[Tom_]

Just watched the highlights. We don't have a lot of luck with penalties in the CL, do we? I can think of several dicey penalties in the last three seasons that have cost us points. Maybe we'll get one against PSG.