13 APR 2017 Ajax - Schalke 04 Europa League Quarterfinals

[Tom_]

Perfect result. No away goals, in front by a couple. Could have been even better, but I can't remember a European performance like that maybe since the 2–1 against Barça?

[SPL]

A fantastic performance from Ajax ,should have been 3 or 4-0 ,Traore still not a natural finisher although he played well. Younes our MOM maybe ,best I have seen from him all season.Hard to believe Kluivert and de Ligt are 17 year olds. de Ligt marked Huntelaar ,think KJH touched the ball once! Donny v d Beek had a very good game ,think he had cramp

Will be tough next week but we are favourites to go through. An important game on Sunday and I want to see Dolberg back, Schone back and maybe let Nouri play instead of Ziyech with Tete getting a game .Vital that Bosz uses a lot more squad players in the next 2 weeks.

[Orange14]

Only some great goalkeeping kept this from being a 5-0 blow out. Other than a late 15 minute stretch, Schalke looked very poor. Ajax kept their nerve on defense and Onana made some good saves when he was tested. Will Ajax rue the fact that they only prevailed 2-0? Schalke will turn up the heat next week in Gelsenkirchen to try to atone for the awful play today. The amazing thing is how young the team on the pitch was today. Other than Viergever who is 27, everyone else was 24 years old and younger!!!

Player Ratings:

Onana (7.5) - tested three times with tough saves and came through each time
Sinkgraven (5.5) - hurt early on and hobbled through the rest of the first half
Viergever (7.5) - split time, playing the 2nd half at LB and had a couple of chances on goal
Sanchez (6.5) - some weak play; is he tired from a long season?
Veltman (6.5) - really not tested on defense much at all and didn't contribute much on offense
van de Beek (7.5) - solid match and it took two great saves to keep him off the score sheet
el Capitan (8) - solid game all around and the PK was the match winner
Ziyech (6.5) - OK and nothing more, had a lot of free kicks but didn't do much with any of them
Younes (8.5) - the Schalke RB will be having nightmares the rest of this month, fortunately he picked up a card and won't have to face Younes next week
Traore (6.5) - good ball play but really some poor finishing on two of the chances where he should have done better
Kluivert (8) - speed kills and Justin has plenty of it
de Ligt (7.5) - 17 years old? Played like a grizzly veteran down the stretch when it was really needed
Neres (5.5) - unfairly carded when he tripped in the box
de Jong (5.5) - on late when van de Beek picked up a knock

[Amol]

We do need to give props to Bosz and the team. We just beat Schalke 2-0 and are generally disappointed that we didn't score more.

Under De Boer (except a couple exceptions - Milan, Barcelona) and the teams from the last 5 years, we would generally be scared against teams like Sparta Prague and Red Bull Salzburg.

[Orange14]

Perfect result. No away goals, in front by a couple. Could have been even better, but I can't remember a European performance like that maybe since the 2–1 against Barça?

Didn't we win or draw at Old Trafford against ManU and almost knock them out of the Europa League?

[Ayman]

Sanchez really needs a break, he is exhausted

[Tom_]

Didn't we win or draw at Old Trafford against ManU and almost knock them out of the Europa League?

True... but tonight was complete domination, in a quarter final: https://twitter.com/11tegen11/status/852631026421682179

[Amol]

There has been another change which I've noticed the past 3-4 games as well - Klaassen and Ziyech have switched sides.

Maybe that's causing more balance on the flanks -
Right - Veltman - Ziyech - Kluivert/Neres
Left - Sinkgraven/Viergever - Klaassen - Younes

This way, there's only one player with average passing and touch on each side - Veltman on the right and Klaassen on the left.

[Amol]

Also, I never understand why SaddlerIan doesn't come here anymore when we win.

[Ayman]

It's such a nice feeling, going to bed knowing that Ajax have the upper hand after the first leg, unlike the previous two rounds, and beyond.

[souras84]

What a night! What a magnificent night!! Truly amazing performance that should have been a bigger win. It's as if they transform into a different team when they play in Europe. Also the fans... They were louder than ever!!! Now, let's go to Germany and finish the job! HUP AJAX HUP

[ajaxusa]

Also the fans... They were louder than ever!!!

Yes indeed. I'm happy to report I was there! Perhaps the best Ajax performance I've seen in person in my lifetime. Really really solid! And the fans were fantastic!