With the resounding 4-0 victory over Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Rangers FC, Ajax had a super start in the Champions League on Wednesday evening. That is the verdict of the Dutch newspapers. The team of trainer Alfred Schreuder impressed especially in the first half and was able to visit the changing rooms with a comfortable 3-0 halftime score. The newspapers are particularly impressed by Mohammed Kudus, who was surprisingly preferred over Brian Brobbey in rush hour.
“Mo steals the show”, reads in big letters on the front page of The Telegraph to read. Kudus paid back the confidence of his trainer Schreuder in the Johan Cruijff ArenA on Wednesday evening in the form of a goal and an assist. The morning paper saw a flashy Ajax playing Rangers drunk and concludes that Edson Álvarez’s opening goal was the start of a big football show. “It certainly caused an extra portion of chagrin in Eindhoven, because the Scots made it clear that the elimination of PSV in the Champions League play-offs was completely unnecessary and actually a shame. Rangers was played completely wrong because of the Amsterdam’s mobility.”
The Dutch newspapers point to Mohammed Kudus as a major luminary.
“Mutins guide Ajax to super start”, headlines General Newspaper. The newspaper is referring to Álvarez and Kudus, who tried to force a transfer to the Premier League last week by not showing up for field training. Also the AD saw that the header with which Álvarez opened the score was the start of a masterclass, in which Rangers were overwhelmed and were not given a chance anymore.
The newspaper especially praises Kudus, who was placed in the starting line-up against Rangers for the first time this season by Schreuder. “He gave fifty thousand frenzied fans the most beautiful present of the evening, when the light-footed and agile Ghanaian started an impressive rush. He concluded that dribble over the left wing with a line, which hit the net through the inside of the post: 3-0. For example, Kudus set up a masterclass within the masterclass, exactly two years after his flashy start at Ajax in his CL debut against Liverpool was abruptly interrupted by a meniscus injury.”
After one half, the Scottish team of coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst was already at a loss, concludes The Parool, which also points to Kudus as a great luminary. “There is no doubt about his talent within Ajax, all the more about his best position. He’s technical, strong, and he can score a goal, but he’s tactically out of step sometimes. That makes him perhaps too unreliable as a midfielder for a coach – and for a team. On the other hand, his unpredictability is also a great asset, and a strength.” The Parool writes further that the Scottish opponent was sometimes close to despair. “Rangers was at times belittled by Ajax.”
“Stylish Ajax doesn’t leave much of Rangers”, headlines de Volkskrant Finally. “The audience in Amsterdam enjoyed a flawless demonstration of technique and movement at Ajax’s overture in the Champions League on Wednesday. Rangers was an extra at the Amsterdam party,” the conclusion reads. The newspaper is full of praise for Ajax’s tactics. “It was mainly a matter of modern play. Movement, everywhere. Speed. walking ability. Scots and crooked, the team of Giovanni van Bronckhorst watched the ball every time