Ajaxtalk

Ajax host Dortmund on match day 3. Haaland appears to be healthy again and is playing for Dortmund today along with Malen and Reus up front. The Ajax defense will really be tested.

Not a good feeling for this one. Ajax has a poor record against German teams, winning 3 out of 11 meetings. On top of that, Borussia Dortmund is the only German team to win away to Ajax. What is the point in them having a poor defense when Haller can't finish, he is way too inconsistent.

we need to get points from tonight’s game to avoid the scenario from 2 years ago. sporting is winning against besiktas and will also win their home game against them

Lineup is the same as EtH has been regularly using with Berghuis in at #10 instead of Klaassen. Antony and Alvarez are both in the starting lineup.

Ayman schreef: ↑

ma okt 18, 2021 1:48 pm

Not a good feeling for this one. Ajax has a poor record against German teams, winning 3 out of 11 meetings.

Very good feeling about this one. Think we will win with at least 2 goals difference.

Ayman schreef: ↑

ma okt 18, 2021 1:48 pm

On top of that, Borussia Dortmund is the only German team to win away to Ajax.

So from 7 official matches in Amsterdam, only 1 time a German team won?
And then consider the top teams in Germany have a couple hundred millions more to spend than Ajax.

In 2012 we were filling our squad with Ryan Babel, Siem de Jong, Ricardo van Rhijn and so on.
Dortmund was having one of their best seasons with Robert Lewandowski, Mario Götzke and Marco Reus in top shape.

Haaland is of course pure class, but Ajax is at a very higher level now than 9 years ago.

antony needs to score there

yeeesssss!!!!

Really good first half but I thought Haaland would surely score at the end of the half. Defense if doing well to prevent the passes to Haaland. Gravenberch had two good chances but didn't convert either one. Ajax just need to stay focused in the second half and continue to pressure Dortmund. I did think the YC on Alavarez was really light. EtH may want to sub him off later in the match if the score stays the same.

We could have scored 3 or 4. Going to be a nervy second half!

Great so far putting pressure on Dortmund and Haaland had one chance but Pasveer did his job.Could have had more than 2 but I was going to be happy with a draw from this game.

yes 3-0!!!! what a great possession

haller for 4

Great win. Haaland got three sniffs at the goal but Ajax scored 4, so… no worries.

In general BVB look like a pre-Premier League English team, playing long balls up to their big target man. Ajax don’t come up against that tactic often but it didn’t cause too much trouble.

ajax demolished dortmund today. that was ajax football at its best. could have easily been more than 4. great team performance.

Brilliant ,Brilliant,Ajax football at its best taking a top German side apart and it could easily have been more. Hope Pasveer's critics give him a break he made some good saves tonight. Antony goal top drawer

What a great night of football in Amsterdam. All credit to the players and EtH for getting everything right. I was surprised how sloppy Dortmund were on the ball. Ajax pressure had something to do with that. Haaland was neutralized for the most part and Pasveer had two very nice saves on the striker's shot. The MF was outstanding controlling all the play and the forward line did well in tight spaces. This could have very well been 7-0 for Ajax with a little better finishing. Undefeated in group play for the first three matches since the van Gaal teams of the 90s. Three more points should send Ajax through to the knock out stage.

Player Ratings:

Pasveer (8) - MOTM for me with his fine saves and very good kicking, he always moved to the right position for a back pass
Blind (8) - well taken goal and super assist on the Haller goal, defended well when he needed to
Martinez (7.5) - helped contain Haaland and his positioning was superb
Timber (7.5) - so good on the ball, lost his position only one time that I saw
Mazraoui (8) - constantly dangerous either on the overlap or the inside run
Alvarez (7.5) - some great interventions and a rather weak YC in the first half was the only blemish
Gravenberch (7.5) - really fine match with some very good passing and had three decent chances on goal
Berghuis (7) - good on the ball
Tadic (7.5) - good free kick led to the own goal to open the scoring which also proved to be the game winner
Haller (7.5) - had some very good moments and was hauled down a couple of times that could have been whistled
Antony (7.5) - Dortmund could not contain him and his goal was wonderful
Klaassen (6.5) - solid play coming in for Berghuis
Neres (6.5) - some sparkling play in relief of Antony
Daramy (NR) - on late
Rensch (NR) - on late

Return match in Dortmund in two weeks. I think Dortmund will look for revenge.

Cruijff schreef: ↑

di okt 19, 2021 7:52 pm

Ayman schreef: ↑

ma okt 18, 2021 1:48 pm

Not a good feeling for this one. Ajax has a poor record against German teams, winning 3 out of 11 meetings.

Very good feeling about this one. Think we will win with at least 2 goals difference.

You missed by two!!!

Ajax have not won 3 champions league games in a row since season 95/96?

Orange14 schreef: ↑

di okt 19, 2021 10:15 pm

Cruijff schreef: ↑

di okt 19, 2021 7:52 pm

Very good feeling about this one. Think we will win with at least 2 goals difference.

You missed by two!!!

I wrote with at least 2 goals difference.

I wanted to predict a 4-0 win (not a joke!) but it is always very sad to miss an Ajax match because the people around you carry you away to a mental institution!

Totally demolished Dortmund today. ETH had done his homework on Dortmund's mid-field and defense and it really paid off.

Pasveer really played his A game today. Saved 3 Haaland shots by my count.

Before the match I was worried about Haaland’s speed running onto through balls behind Ajax’s high defensive line. But they didn’t get the ball through midfield very often so they had to play a lot of long balls.

There were a couple of exceptions but by my count Haaland’s three shots were their only real chances, and Ajax had 7 or 8 good ones.

Great position to be in after 3 games - although if we lose the return leg to Dortmund, we would want to beat Besiktas to eliminate the possibility of a last day disaster!

Tom_ schreef: ↑

wo okt 20, 2021 7:02 am

Before the match I was worried about Haaland’s speed running onto through balls behind Ajax’s high defensive line. But they didn’t get the ball through midfield very often so they had to play a lot of long balls.

There were a couple of exceptions but by my count Haaland’s three shots were their only real chances, and Ajax had 7 or 8 good ones.

Great position to be in after 3 games - although if we lose the return leg to Dortmund, we would want to beat Besiktas to eliminate the possibility of a last day disaster!

There is a great possibility that Ajax can get a result in Dortmund, even if it is a draw and Besiktas are very weak. Ajax just need 4 points to make the last game meaningless, that is more than doable. Btw Sporting aren't so great either, they are inexperienced at this level.

Ayman schreef: ↑

wo okt 20, 2021 12:32 am

Ajax have not won 3 champions league games in a row since season 95/96?

That is what the announcer on the US feed said.