Ajax failed to become the first Dutch club ever to win six trophies in a row on Saturday evening. The team of coach Erik ten Hag went down ingloriously against PSV in the battle for the Johan Cruijff Scale, which led to a 0-4 victory via two hits from Noni Madueke and a beautiful goal from Mario Götze. After the game, Ten Hag mainly complained about the fitness of his players and he was disappointed that Nicolás Tagliafico was sent off by referee Björn Kuipers just before half-time.
“Until that moment we were in the game,” Ten Hag says in front of the cameras of ESPN on the red card. Tagliafico saw Kuipers’ red card in the fortieth minute after a tough tackle on André Ramalho’s lower legs. “We played well, we can continue with that. But you have to stay with eleven men.” For a moment Ajax seemed to be level with Sébastien Haller after fifteen minutes of play, but the striker’s goal was rejected due to offside. “In the second half we tried to turn it around, but then the ball has to fall just right,” Ten Hag continues.
Ten Hag defends Tagliafico: “But this is a ‘wake up call’ for Ajax”
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“We made mistakes that we are not allowed to make. Of course they have to be removed,” said Ten Hag. The Ajax trainer is referring, among other things, to the first two goals against. After two minutes of play, Madueke Remko gave Pasveer no chance for the first time after a nice solo on the right side of the field, only to repeat that trick after half an hour of play. “Of course I named it, but the players know it too. You should not let him (Madueke, ed.) come in like with the first goal. And with the second goal, the rest defense was much too far away. to do with physicality, we’re not ready yet.”
It was the first serious test case of the season for the Ten Hag team, while PSV is already fully active in the Champions League. The Ajax coach noted that some of his players were unable to last the entire match. “A number of players are not yet ready for these kinds of matches,” says Ten Hag. “Davy Klaassen is one of them. But it was also a tactical move. We were one man less, so I thought I had to repair something on the left.” Ten Hag took Klaassen off the field at half-time and brought Devyne Rensch inside the lines. The invisible Haller also had to leave the field after an hour of play.
Arnold Bruggink interpreted Ten Hag’s words as a signal. “He sneezes a bit at the Dutch national team,” said Bruggink. Kenneth Perez sees it as an excuse that Ten Hag starts talking about the fitness of his players afterwards. “He’s not complaining, he’s trying to find a cause. He’s said it before the time, then it’s a nice one escape in this way. The competition starts in a week. It will run loose in the beginning and then you are ready for the Champions League.”