06 AUG 2019; PAOK Salonika - Ajax; CL Qualifier

[Orange14]

I missed the first 10 minutes of the match as B/R Live would not let me log in and I was tired of waiting for tech support. PAOK are physical and quick, just the recipe for an Ajax meltdown. Thanks to Veltman it's not 4-1 as he broke up two possible goal scoring chances. Blind's passing is horrible and where was he and Mazraoui on the first goal. PAOK overloaded the back four. I don't know if ten Hag can turn this one around with some words of wisdom at the half. It was just poor luck again to draw the toughest opponent of all the teams in this round.

[SPL]

defence is woeful mf non existant and Donny will be gone next week.

Europa cup on Thursday nights coming up and Neres and Ziyech will also be gone.

[Amol]

Lets all take a deep breath and say a little prayer. I'm hoping we don't let in more goals and that we potentially score another one.

Also, I'm not watching anymore - have a meeting which starts in 2 minutes. That might bring our luck back.

[SPL]

1 week from his 36th birthday and still my favourite KJH.2-2

[Amol]

I knew it. I had to stop watching for us to score goals again.

[Tom_]

Nooooo, Amol, get off the internet! ;)

Seriously though 2–2 would be a miracle given this clueless effort. They look like they’ve had valium for lunch.

[SPL]

2-2 relief we got the draw and in the end they tired and we should have got a 3rd. Apart from their 2 goals, both defensive howlers,they created little and we should beat them next week.

[Orange14]

Well this one was a real nail biter. After a disappointing first half with some really bad defensive lapses, Ajax looked the fresher of the two teams in the second. Huntelaar was in the right place at the right time to knock in the tying goal (though I don't know if he knew too much about it). Defense held firm and Ajax were winning all the balls in the air. It seemed like they must have had 80% of the possession in the second half and PAOK really looked spent and couldn't keep up with the ball movement. 2-2 is much better than 0-0 given the away goals but Ajax really need some work to do this week to stiffen up the defense and make sure that the mental part of the game is there in the return tie.

Player Ratings:

Onana (6.5) - I don't think he had a single thing to do in the second half and certainly was not at fault on either of the PAOK goals
Tagliafico (6.5) - played a good strong match and knew exactly when to push it forward and when to pass back
Martinez (6.5) - he is really a strong player and had good thoughtful passes
Schuurs (6) - really shaky on two occasions in the first half but solid in the second
Veltman (7) - two interventions and two saved goals in the first half
Blind (6.5) - very poor passing in the first half and very good passing in the second
Mazraoui (5.5) - not terribly impactful on the match
van de Beek (6) - worked hard as usual but the shot was not there tonight
Tadic (7) - solid match from the Captain
Dolberg (4) - ten Hag told him something during an early break and then two minutes later pulled him; not a good sign
Ziyech (7) - great goal and good pressing but too many turnovers on the night
Huntelaar (6.5) - easily picked up the garbage for the tying goal
Marin (5.5) - hardly on at all but had a free kick reminiscent of Schöne's best
Neres (NR)

Let's hope that Ajax solves some of the riddles that PAOK posed tonight in the return match. There is no stronger team than this left in the qualifying round.

[Orange14]

I knew Diego Biseswar played for Feyenoord but had no idea he was an Ajax youth player!!! Learned something new today. Apparently he was a difficult player to train and Ajax let him go when he was 11 years old.

[Tom_]

Yep, it wasn't so bad in the second half. I think we're just a bit under-done and lacking sharpness right now. Should be a different story in Amsterdam.

[Tom_]

BTW, my impression was that Dolberg took a knock from a late tackle. Don’t recall ten Hag ever making early tactical subs in the past.

[Orange14]

BTW, my impression was that Dolberg took a knock from a late tackle. Don’t recall ten Hag ever making early tactical subs in the past.

Correct, ten Hag said so after the match

[SPL]

PAOK put out a little video dedicated to Appie.Pure class from this Greek club.

[Amol]

PAOK put out a little video dedicated to Appie.Pure class from this Greek club.

I saw that too. That was a class act.

[Amol]

On a separate note, I'm now worried about watching the return game next week

While I watched we let in 2 goals and we scored both goals when I wasn't

[souras84]

Watching the game and telling my friends that the final score would be 2-2 beforehand. Whenever we have new defenders and changing lineups in 3 consecutive games, shit happens. Huge mistakes and logical when it's still this early, but costly as they can leave you out of European football and a great loss of money.

Martinez is a good (and can become a great defender), but he needs to learn that he's playing in Europe. Those flying elbows can put him and the team in big trouble. Secondly I am not sure what kind of coordination is there between him and Schuurs... Schuurs is still young and it's natural to make mistakes. The thing is these could cost millions.

The blackout final 20 minutes of the first half, aren't all defense. They have hidden midfield problems! Once more, after the humiliating 6-2 in Rotterdam, I saw Mazraoui walk and stare. He just wasn't there to intercept or pass or receive, to help in anyway our team. He got a yellow and could get one earlier if there was VAR. I thought he would be subbed earlier for Marin. In that final 20 minutes of the first half, Paok advanced through the middle with no opposition... I was super frustrated. We still don't have a standard trio in the MF and that is the main problem, especially if Donny leaves...

Last thought of the night is the many wasted chances. We did it with Vitesse and again tonight. We are clearly a superior team and who goes through will be determined by us. BUT and it's a big but(t) we need to convert those damn chances. It's always our opponents that find 1 goal in 2 chances or 2 out of 4 etc.

In the Amsterdam leg, we must play for victory. Thinking of draws will be a mistake. The Emmen game will be a nice training match and let's hope we win easily with no injuries. Maybe Dolberg's injury is a blessing in disguise. We still need to find the balance in our MF and stabilize our DF.

[SPL]

good points souras.

Martinez and Schuurs are good prospects but need an experienced Cd next to them.Blind maybe should play alongside Schuurs.

MF is a hugh problem and last night the folly of Schone going was clear.Mazraoui is a good attacking fullback and looks a bit lost as a MF. I have not seen enough of Marin to judge what sort of MF he is but he is certainly not the best MF we could have got from Belgium. Press quotes 2 MF at Club Brugge who are better.

We really haven't replaced Frenkie yet but now we let Schone go which is crazy. Donny going and we are left watching us lining up last night with 2 defenders as MF.

We should have scored in those last 20 mins and many times last season we dominated but didn't score enough.We need a younger version of KJH.He is slowing down but at 36 ,next week,shows more energy and ability to score than Dolberg. Last night we suffered because our defence looked like schoolboys in giving away 2 soft goals.

[Orange14]

I agree with the points Souras made. I think ten Hag wants Blind in the MF because he is the best passer on the team. I know this might seem weird, but I think he is a better reader of the game and quicker in passing decisions than either Schöne or de Jong. The problem is that he's maybe a half step too slow to play in the MF these days. I think he was complaining to the CR about the foul call and as a result was too far upfield to help out on the first PAOK goal.