Ajax lord and master against sc Heerenveen during Grillitsch’s debut

Ajax pulled off a trouble-free victory against Heerenveen on Sunday. The Friesians came to visit the Johan Cruyff Arena and had no chance there. Muhammed Kudus scored two goals, while Kenneth Taylor, Davy Klassen and Brian Probe also scored. It all happened on the night of Florian Grealish’s debut. The bad news: Calvin Bassey came out injured.

It was Ajax who started the match and immediately took the lead. This led to the opening goal within four minutes. After a great opening by Daley Blind and quick action by Devyne Rensch, a space was created for the team from Amsterdam, after which Kudus Dusan Tadic served at a high pace. Then the Serb surrendered, after which Klassen managed to completely separate from the head. Alfred Schroeder’s team made room for itself by letting the ball pass quickly.

Over fifteen minutes later, Taylor made it 2-0. It was the result of – apparently – by Michael Reiziger who devised a variant on the free kick. Tadic and Steven Bergwijn got behind the ball, but to everyone’s surprise, Captain Taylor passed. The midfielder acted quickly and sensibly put the ball into the corner. Anders Neubert – part of the Dutch national team’s initial selection – had no chance. Moments later, Devyne Rensch made an attempt from a distance. He hit the ball clearly, but his shot went too far.

After that, Ajax got a bit sloppy, which meant no more opportunities appeared. In the 36th minute, SC gave Heerenveen a chance to return to the match. Alex Timusi Anderson managed to get close to Remko Pasfer due to a foul in Ajax, but the experienced goalkeeper quickly got out and made it impossible for the opener to lift the ball over him. Before the break, Bergwijn dared to shoot, but Neubert saved well and moments later raised the flag for offside. The last moment of the first half was a moment of fury. Edson Alvarez was booked for interrupting a promising attack, then kicked the way. Heerenveen’s players may have wanted more than just a yellow card, but the referee wasn’t tempted.

After the break, Ajax immediately made a substitution. Rench left the field and it is likely that he was allowed to take a break in the lead-up to the Liverpool-Ajax match, while Jorge Sanchez came on and could therefore participate for a full half. Just as in the first half, Ajax managed to score quickly again after the break. After a corner kick from Tadic, the ball stayed and Kudus knew what to do with it. Ghanaian shot from close range 3-0. Moments later, substitute Sanchez attempted a shot from distance, but that attempt ended. Ajax did not slow down and immediately went 4-0. After a deep pass towards sc Heerenveen, Bergwijn made a nice through pass towards Klaassen, but the attacking midfielder was unable to pass the ball past Noppert.

Ajax’s storm continued and resulted in a 4-0 hour later. Alvarez saw a run from Sanchez and made a good through ball for his compatriot. The right-back then put the ball wide and gave Kudus an unmissable chance. The Ghanaian did not fail and signed for the fourth goal this evening. Alvarez’s pass was immediately his last piece of art, because then – along with Bergwijn – he went to the side. Grealish made his debut, while Robby was also allowed to participate for half an hour. Brobbey’s raid did not go unnoticed, as the young striker scored quickly. In the 70th minute he was sent by Tadic, who gave him his third assist in the match. Probe remained calm and scored a convincing goal.

In the latter part of the match Ajax kept the team on the ball, but the real need was no longer there. Stephen Berguis entered the field, while Lucas Ocampos was also allowed to participate for another twenty minutes. The most exciting moment of the final stage was Bassi’s injury. The defender stuck his foot on the grass and received a lot of pain. Moments later, he got up again, but did not return to the field. Ajax has already changed five times and so Ajax played with ten men from the 84th minute. In the sports field, not much happened after that and it ended with a 5-0 score.

Ajax setup:

feather; Wrench (Sanchez 46′), timber, bassey, blind; Alvarez (Grillitsch 60′), Klaassen, Taylor (Berghuis 67′); Tadic, Kudus, Bergwijn (Propy 60′).

Ajax alternatives:

Stecklenburg, Gorter, Proby, Ocampos, Kaplan, Luca, Sanchez, Grealish, Bergwis, Bass, Magellan.

SC Heerenveen lineup:

Neubert. Van Eywick, Van Beek, Buchnewich, Van Aken, Cape; Hay, Taheri, Olsen. Anderson, Van Hoydonk.

Alternatives sc Heerenveen:

Hajj. Ali, Bekema, Kolasin, Moss, Sarr, Van der Veldt, Van Otelli, Zal.

Objectives:

1-0 Davy Classen (4d)
2-0 Kenneth Taylor (16 minutes)
3-0 Mohamed Kodos (48 minutes)
4-0 Mohamed Kodos (59)
5-0 Brian Brobie (70)