Ajax played a draw against Benfica on Wednesday evening in the first mutual meeting in the Champions League. In Estadio da Luz it was 2-2; the Amsterdam goals were scored by Dusan Tadic and Sébastien Haller. Football zone assesses the basic players of Ajax with a score.
Player report Ajax against Benfica
| PLAYER | FIGURE |
|---|---|
| Remko Pasveer | 4.5 |
| Noussair Mazraoui | 8 |
| Jurrien Timber | 6 |
| Lisandro Martinez | 7 |
| Daley Blind | 5.5 |
| Edson Alvarez | 6 |
| Steven Berghuis | 5.5 |
| Ryan Gravenberch | 5 |
| Anthony | 6 |
| Sebastien Haller | 6,5 |
| Dusan Tadic | 6 |
Remko Key spring: 4,5
Pasveer looked unhappy with both goals from Benfica. The goalkeeper dove over the ball after Jan Vertonghen’s cross, which resulted in the 1-1 and came with a separate save on a hard long shot from Gonçalo Ramos. He failed to tap the ball away, but instead gave Roman Yaremchuk the chance to use the rebound. In minute 25, Pasveer made an excellent intervention, by barely keeping a deflected shot from Rafa Silva out of the short corner.
Noussair Mazraoui: 8
The right back was one of the stars at Ajax. Apart from one unfortunate and very precious moment, the slip that gave Vertonghen clear way to send the cross that resulted in the 1-1, Mazraoui played superbly. With his fierceness and perfectly executed tackles, he was a real tease for the rising Alejandro Grimaldo. For example, he captured the ball from Grimaldo in the run-up to the 1-2 and also received the assist on that goal with a cross to Tadic. It wasn’t his only dangerous cross of the evening. Vertonghen’s toe prevented Mazraoui from appearing on the scoreboard after 62 minutes. Just before that, he had defused a counter when he was the last man to face Darwin Núñez.
Jurrien Timber: 6
To Ajax’s great relief, Timber was the last man in the right place to prevent Roman Yaremchuk from scoring halfway through the second half. But moments later, Timber dropped easily into the enemy penalty area and was left behind, being needed in a Benfica counterattack that eventually made it 2-2. Just before that, Timber was also unhappy: he went forward with a 1-2 lead, lost the ball in the attack and suddenly Benfica was close to a goal. The defender looked a bit less confident than he normally does, but also had other good interventions, such as the way he was on Núñez’s skin after ten minutes in the penalty area or clearing his cross fifteen minutes before the end.
Lisandro Martinez: 7
The biggest stain on his performance was the easy way Martínez let Rafa Silva pass on the sidelines, after which a corner arose that led to the 1-1. Furthermore, the fierceness of the center defender was a weapon for Ajax. He twice prevented Núñez from rushing towards the goal: once with a childishly simple-looking intervention, then with a firm block. He also sent several good play-in passes to Blind and he offered Mazraoui a great chance in the second half with a deep pass. Seven minutes after the break, Martínez cleared a cross from Núñez.
Daley Blind: 5.5
The alert Blind cleared a shot from the penalty area in the eleventh minute and then had several good interceptions on the sidelines and around the halfway line in the house. Five minutes before half time, for example, he cleverly put Rafa Silva off the ball and immediately started a counterattack. Halfway through the second half it was Rafa Silva who easily passed Blind, after which a shooting opportunity arose for Ramos. Just before that, Blind’s loss of ball had almost resulted in a goal against from a counter. As the match progressed, Blind’s form waned.
Edson Alvarez: 6
The midfielder had the chance to put Ajax on 1-3 in the first half, but shot the post from close range. The way he moved on from the midfield was certainly commendable. Álvarez could perhaps have done more to prevent Vertonghen’s cross before the 1-1. He stopped when Mazraoui slipped, keeping Vertonghen out of the way.
Steven Berghuis: 5.5
With a ‘wonderful pass’, according to analyst Wesley Sneijder, Berghuis prepared the 1-2 at Ajax. He gave a low cross, after which Vertonghen shot the ball against his own goalkeeper and Haller was able to strike in the rebound. Furthermore, Berghuis was barely visible in Lisbon, although he did receive a yellow card for a tackle on Julian Weigl. After an hour, Berghuis escaped his second print, possibly because the arbitration gave Benfica an advantage.
Ryan Gravenberch: 5
The midfielder was preferred over Davy Klaassen. The question is to what extent he has caused Erik ten Hag to doubt his basic line-up, because Gravenberch did not play great. He was barely visible; in possession, Gravenberch alternated good moments with lesser ones. Halfway through the first half, for example, he let the ball easily be snatched from behind, but then he came with a nice attack along the sideline during a counterattack by Ajax. In the second half, Gravenberch let the ball jump off his feet and failed to take advantage of a great opportunity in the penalty area.
Anthony: 6
Antony soon caused a stir with an unparalleled panna and pirouette. His performance was characterized by such inspirations, interspersed with much lesser moments. For example, he regularly got stuck in potentially threatening situations and gave too little power to his attempts, but he also offered Álvarez a huge opportunity with a razor-sharp through ball in the penalty area. Of all Ajax players, Antony suffered by far the most loss of the ball (22 times) and unfortunately he was unable to camouflage those lesser moments with a good return. With a headbutt move towards Núñez, Antony also risked a late red card, but he got away with a yellow card.
Sebastien Haller: 6.5
The Champions League top scorer initially shot into his own goal, but recovered by making the 1-2 shortly afterwards. He was lucky that Vertonghen stuck out his leg and forced Odysseas Vlachodimos to a save, after which he was able to use the rebound. Haller then shot wide open goal in a difficult rebound after a shot by Álvarez against the post; he also offered opportunities to Antony and Tadic with good preparatory work.
Dusan Tadic: 6
“This one goes on for everyone, normally,” said Rafael van der Vaart about Tadic’s 0-1. “How he calmly steers him towards the far corner with the right, that is real quality. Truly a world goal. Especially because I think the pass was intended for Berghuis.” The Ajax captain received the ball from Mazraoui and took the leather out of the air perfectly, finding the top right corner. After the break, Tadic sent a nice pass to Haller and he got the ball back, but this time his unruly finish left much to be desired.