10 AUG 2019; Ajax - FC Emmen; Match Day 2

[Orange14]

Ajax entertain FC Emmen in the home opener of this season's Eredivisie competition. The match will give ten Hag additional time to work out some of the problems that were on display against Vitesse and PAOK in anticipation of the return tie in the CL qualifying round. Dolberg left last night's match with an injury and I have not seen any report as to the severity. I'm not sure Huntelaar can play 90 minutes on Saturday and then come right back against PAOK next Wednesday. Mazraoui needs more playing time in the MF if he is going to be the starter this season.

[Ayman]

Huntelaar can start this game, but get subbed for Neres and ten Hag can assess how the game is, when moving Tadic to the centre and Neres on the left. It's early in the season, so it's normal to be sluggish, although there is no excuse but to win this game and the home game against PAOK. My only concern is Karabagh in Azerbaijan, a draw there would be delightful!

[Ayman]

No Schuurs or Dolberg for this game, they are injured, not sure for how long

[Ayman]

No Schuurs or Dolberg for this game, they are injured, not sure for how long

This means Veltman at CD and Mazraoui at right back. What a recipe for a disaster against teams in Europe. Get well soon Schuurs, we need you, fast!

[SPL]

Dolberg had a knock v PAOK but probably not taking risks.No mention of Schuurs injured ,think they just keep him back for PAOK on Tuesday.He wont play twice a week at this stage of the season. Think Alvarez will come on at some stage today.

[Ayman]

I am hoping they will have a formation like this:

Onana

Veltman Martinez Tagliafico

Blind
Mazraoui Marin
van de Beek


Ziyech Neres
Tadic

[Ayman]

Damn! Neres almost scored inside the first minute.

[Tom_]

Ball movement is so much better with Tadić in the centre.

Not really liking what I’ve seen from Marin so far. Runs hard but doesn’t seem to have any idea what to do with the ball. He reminds me of Sulejmani a bit - maybe just because of the way his little legs pump away when he’s running.

[SPL]

Need to finish better and get a quick 2nd.Donny showing why we cannot sell him ,Marin nothing special

[Orange14]

How is this not 5-0? Ajax have had 14 shots on goal and about 70% of the possession. Still need to tighten up the defense. This kind of play is fine against teams such as Emmen but they will get punished in Europe.

[Ayman]

Dest on for Mazraoui? I know he is two footed but i could have thought of better subsistutions. E.g. Alvarez for the holding man in midfield.

[SPL]

Comfortable 5-0 win and could have been more. KJH,36 this Monday, still has the hunger for goals at this level. Tadic as striker with Neres and Ziyech is still the best line up and we had fast moving football as usual.

More confident now than a week ago just want Donny to stay.

PS .VAR a joke 2 mins to decide whether KJH was off side for that 5th .You could see the officials shrugging as they were not sure.2 or 3 looks and if you are not sure goal. It should have been 30 secs max not 2 mins.

[Orange14]

Ajax were totally dominant on the evening with 32 shots, 12 on frame for a 5-0 victory over an under-manned FC Emmen. It took a while for VAR to figure out if Huntelaar was offsides on the fifth goal but it stood. The defense was still a little loose and better teams would have punished Ajax for at least one goal. The interior passing in the attacking zone was excellent and the players seem to know how to find the open player. It looked like Mazroui took a knock in the first half and Dest was a more than adequate replacement for the last 35 minutes of the match.

Player Ratings:

Onana (6) - had two punches amidst a clutter of the players in the first half and that was about it for his evening.
Tagliafico (7) - didn't have much defending to do and was marauding up and down the left side all evening
Martinez (6.5) - had a couple of good interventions and almost a goal at the end of the match; he still needs to be more aware of attackers in his zone
Veltman (7) - solid game but honestly had little defending to do
Mazraoui (6.5) - looked more comfortable at RB until he had to come off
Blind (7) - solid passing again
Marin (6.5) - decent enough but really should have scored when he was set up
van de Beek (7) - very good match for 70 minute and then was a non factor
Neres (7) - really good runs and a bit unlucky not to have had the first goal
Tadic (7.5) - solid match and very good close quarter passing
Ziyech (7) - a couple of shots from distance that were not on frame but we expect this
Dest (6) - solid game on offense with some good crosses
Promes (6) - OK match coming on for Neres
Huntelaar (6.5) - get him the ball and watch him score

All to play for against PAOK on Tuesday!!!

[Orange14]

PS .VAR a joke 2 mins to decide whether KJH was off side for that 5th .You could see the officials shrugging as they were not sure.2 or 3 looks and if you are not sure goal. It should have been 30 secs max not 2 mins.

I thought the same as you, they really could not make up their mind. They also have different cameras than what was shown on our game feed here in the US. From our feed he looked offsides but the angle was so bad I could not be sure. I guess they really want to be sure if it comes down to goal difference at the end of the season.

[souras84]

Yes we did win, but we were very sloppy in possession. The players knew they were better and played the ball around more than needed. Many chances and little success in the first half at least. Better teams would have punished us. Maybe equalize us in the first 45