Ajax suffered a home defeat on Thursday evening in the first match against AS Roma in the quarter finals of the Europa League. Erik ten Hag’s team lost 1-2 despite a goal from Davy Klaassen. Football zone judges the basic players of Ajax with a score.
Player report Ajax against AS Roma
| PLAYER | FIGURE |
|---|---|
| Kjell Scherpen | 4 |
| Devyne Rensch | 5 |
| Jurriën Timber | 6 |
| Lisandro Martínez | 6.5 |
| Nicolás Tagliafico | 6 |
| Edson Álvarez | 5.5 |
| Davy Klaassen | 6 |
| Ryan Gravenberch | 5 |
| Antony | 5.5 |
| Dusan Tadic | 6.5 |
| David Neres | 3 |
Kjell Scherpen: 4
Just before the game it became clear that Scherpen had to replace the injured Maarten Stekelenburg. He started hesitantly with weak kicks, such as when he promptly handed the ball to Amadou Diawara, but then seemed to recover with a save from a long shot from Bryan Cristante and a bet from Edin Dzeko from the spin. Then he stood out with a quick, clean throw towards Neres. His blunder at the 1-1, however, ensures that Scherpen cannot look back on a good European debut: he let the ball slip out of his hands after a free kick by Lorenzo Pellegrini.
Devyne Rensch: 5
Ajax’s right back made one important contribution in the first half: shortly before the break, he put a good block at the steamy Riccardo Calafiori, who was forced out and saw his cross blocked by Rensch. Furthermore, the youth was not a reliable factor in the back. He was regularly defected from the flank. In the first minute he suddenly played the ball in the feet of Roma; not much later he let himself easily pass by Leonardo Spinazzola and that resulted in a threatening cross. Ten minutes after the break, a judgment error by Rensch at a cross resulted in a header chance for Dzeko, but shortly afterwards he shielded Pellegrini well at the back line.
Jurriën Timber: 6
After more than half an hour of play, Timber was quickly back in his own half with a quick counter by Roma, overtook Pellegrini and gave Ajax time to regroup. It was his best moment in the game, because he didn’t play clear. He lost a header duel to Dzeko after 33 minutes in the sixteen-meter area and got in possession of the ball twenty minutes before time, which meant that Rensch had to correct his mistake, took yellow and was suspended for the return. Timber’s contribution to the structure was far too limited.
Lisandro Martínez: 6.5
Martínez was the star on the field in the first half hour. He scattered measured play-in passes, performed valuable defensive actions and added some frills to the game with an unexpected heel on Tagliafico. Halfway through the first half, at an important moment, he touched a pass from Leonardo Spinazzola on Edin Dzeko, who could only shoot out of the turn. As the game progressed, however, Martínez’s sharpness diminished, and this was also evident from his bad pass to Álvarez, which led to the Mexican losing the ball; Roma came to 1-1 from a subsequent free kick.
Nicolás Tagliafico: 6
Ajax’s attacking game mainly took place on the left side, which meant that Tagliafico could not make such a big contribution. In the first half he got the ball right at Neres at a few moments, but he hardly made any actions himself. In the thirteenth minute, the Argentinian was of value by heading a dangerous cross from Spinazzola before Dzeko could get to the ball. Halfway through the second half, Tagliafico almost scored due to a hesitant intervention by Pau López; fifteen minutes before the end, he carried out a sneaky charge on Pellegrini’s foot.
Edson Álvarez: 5.5
The biggest mistake was by Scherpen, but the free kick from which Roma made the 1-1 also came from doubtful actions by Álvarez. The midfielder ran into problems under pressure, albeit after a bad pass from Martínez, lost the ball and then gave away the free kick in a very threatening position. In the first half, there were already moments when Álvarez was too easily passed or put on the wrong lane, although he also regularly conquered the ball for his team.
Davy Klaassen: 6
Klaassen little on the ball, before he was of great value in Ajax’s 1-0. The midfielder benefited from the hesitant action of the Roma defense. He intercepted a pass to Gianluca Mancini, combined with Tadic and finished in a controlled manner. Until that moment Klaassen was usually of value in his ball contacts, as he helped attacks forward, but he simply did not appear much in the play. That didn’t change much after his goal. Of all the field players who were on the field for ninety minutes at Ajax, he had the least number of ball contacts: 32.
Ryan Gravenberch: 5
As one of Ajax’s greatest talents, Gravenberch knows his eyes on a European evening, but not much initiative came from the midfielder. He did not often assert himself, although he was responsible for the first goal attempt: with a shot from outside the box, he was unbalanced and ran into López. Furthermore, Gravenberch’s contributions varied; eighteen minutes before the end, he prepared an opportunity for Antony. His chopball was turned by the goalkeeper. With crosses from free kicks, Gravenberch was at the basis of a few threatening moments in the second half.
Antony: 5.5
Antony unintentionally played an important role in the run-up to the 1-0, when he got stuck and Ajax then continued the attack. It marked the performance of the right winger: not always fluently, but with the necessary willpower and energy. Shortly before the opening goal, he prepared a serious opportunity for Tadic with a lepid pass. Shortly afterwards, he missed a great opportunity to double the margin and that was certainly not the only opportunity he left unused. Antony’s passes were often too sharp in the first half, but after the break the connection with his teammates was slightly better. Two minutes before the end he was replaced by Oussama Idrissi.
Dusan Tadic: 6.5
When Tadic was served by Klaassen six minutes before the break, everyone seemed to expect a shot from the striker. However, he chose to pass the ball back to Klaassen, who was able to finish because Roma’s defense had been misled by Tadic. Until that moment, the Serbian could not distinguish himself: his passes and crosses were often too sharp or too short. Shortly after the break, the Ajax captain earned a penalty, which he himself missed with a shot through the middle. After 68 minutes, Tadic sent a flawless through ball to substitute Brian Brobbey, who failed one-on-one with López. He then also put Antony in front of the keeper with a rocker.
David Neres: 3
Ajax’s left winger played a very unfortunate match. He got stuck several times, needed too much time with his actions, played the ball too far ahead, was unable to pass his opponents in the sprint or was offside when he was played. In the first half he made mistakes; he was barely visible in the second half, before being relieved by Brian Brobbey after 63 minutes.