Sunday, March 20, 2022 at 4:28 PM• Rian Rosendaal • Last update: 16:34

Five days after the elimination in the eighth final of the Champions League, Ajax has won a very exciting duel against Feyenoord: 3-2. Trainer Erik ten Hag saw his team fall 1-2 in De Classic, partly due to a very poor first half. With the second goal of the Rotterdam team, Steven Berghuis made a flashy mistake. Dusan Tadic, with a nice free kick in the second half, and Antony were the saviors of the leader in the final phase. Competitor PSV starts the home game with Fortuna Sittard at 4.45 pm and must win to stay in the footsteps of Ajax.

Feyenoord got off to a strong start against Ajax, which seemed to waver in defense in the initial phase. A shot by Cyriel Dessers was blocked by Lisandro Martínez, while Luis Sinisterra headed wide after a good cross by Fredrik Aursnes. In the eighth minute, the number three in the Eredivisie still broke the spell. Guus Til was stopped by goalkeeper André Onana, but in the rebound the alert Sinisterra headed in from the right side of the Ajax goal: 0-1. Feyenoord immediately went on the hunt for a doubling of the lead, but that did not come in the first part of The Classic.

Luis Sinisterra move @feyenoord at 0-1! The Classic is loose ??#jafey pic.twitter.com/cL1yCLptN6

— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) March 20, 2022

Ajax’s first achievement came in the seventeenth minute, with a shot from Berghuis that ended up on the fists of goalkeeper Ofir Marciano. Halfway through the first half in Amsterdam, Ajax reversed the early deficit. A shot from outside the box by Ryan Gravenberch was not handled well by Marciano and it was Sébastien Haller who scored the 1-1 in the rebound. Shortly before that, Antony got the arm of guard Tyrell Malacia in the face. After a short treatment, the wing attacker was able to continue. Davy Klaassen was already warming up just to be sure, but he did not have to be brought in by Ten Hag.

The euphoria at Ajax was only short-lived. Four minutes after the 1-1, the 1-2 appeared on the scoreboard again. Berghuis had the ball stolen in his own half after a throw-in by Daley Blind, after which Timber was not paying attention either. In the end it was Til who seized the opportunity with both hands: 1-2. The disappointment was clearly visible at Berghuis, who went wrong against his old club Feyenoord. Feyenoord clearly got a boost of the renewed lead and a shot by Dessers in the 34th minute just missed Onana’s goal. The Jens Toornstra who followed would have loved to have the ball at the far post, but Dessers had no eye for his teammate. In the final minute, Haller headed in a promising position into the hands of Marciano.

† A mistake by Steven Berghuis leads to Guus Til’s 1-2! @feyenoord ahead again.#jafey pic.twitter.com/KhuCqGKq56

— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) March 20, 2022

Halfway through The Classic, it was not the failing Berghuis that was replaced by Ten Hag, but Edson Álvarez. Klaassen made his appearance in the midfield of Ajax. Remarkably enough, Feyenoord got less and less time to play football after the break, even though the home team didn’t exactly play great. Timber issued a warning after an hour of play with a header that landed over Marciano on the crossbar. Shortly afterwards Jorrit Hendrix replaced the injured Toornstra at Feyenoord. In minute 64 Antony shot past, to the horror of everything and everyone at Ajax. With twenty minutes left on the clock, Nicolás Tagliafico and Brian Brobbey came in, with Blind and Berghuis being replaced.

In the 73rd minute Marciano was well off, but nevertheless Brobbey’s header for an open goal did not hit. It turned out to be a stay of execution, because Ajax came alongside in the 78th minute against Feyenoord. The rather criticized Tadic turned a free kick from the right in one go into the top left corner, above the helpless Marciano. Arne Slot also made a change around the equalizer: Dessers was relieved by Bryan Linssen and Marcus Holmgren Pedersen came in for Sinisterra. However, it was not enough to prevent a third goal from Ajax with four minutes left on the clock.

A cross from the left of the substitute Tagliafico ended up at Antony, who did not think and took a straight shot. His bang disappeared in the bottom left corner past the hopeless Marciano. Antony was delirious with joy and took off his shirt. That earned him a yellow card and suspension. The match winner did not make it to the end of the match, because a second yellow card was presented to him due to curious time wasting. It all started when Tadic warned him to stay on the floor. Despite this, the three very important points for Ajax in The Classic.