Sunday, August 14, 2022 at 4:28 PM• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 16:41

Ajax booked a childishly simple victory against FC Groningen on Sunday afternoon. Alfred Schreuder’s team faced a 3-1 lead halfway through, which was further expanded after the break: 6-1. Steven Bergwijn and Antony were the absolute trendsetters. The winger who came over from Tottenham Hotspur took a hat-trick. Antony scored once, the fifth was in the name of Kenneth Taylor. Substitute Steven Berghuis completed the ball from the spot. Lorenzo Lucca made his debut in the Ajax shirt in the final phase. The team from Amsterdam leads the Eredivisie with the resounding victory, together with PSV.

The big question at Ajax prior to the duel with Groningen was the implementation of the vanguard. Schreuder admitted to Fortuna Sittard last week that he did not start with the right basis and opted against it The Pride of the North to perform with Dusan Tadic, Brian Brobbey, Antony and Steven Bergwijn. That meant that Berghuis became the child of the bill. He still functioned as number 10 against Fortuna. Mohamed Kudus was also on the bench again. The Ghanaian receives praise, but does not have to count on a basic place yet. Jörgen Strand Larsen is still present at Groningen.

Antony is unstoppable today ???????#ajagro pic.twitter.com/GslNPtNS8B

— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) August 14, 2022

Ajax started energetically and took the lead within five minutes. After a combination on the right side of the field between Tadic and Devyne Rensch, the latter hurled the ball in front of the goal. There Bergwijn checked with his chest to hit the roof of the goal: 1-0. The team from Amsterdam could not enjoy the lead for a long time. Five minutes later, it hit the other side as well. Strand Larsen won a sprint duel against Blind, kept the overview and offered the opportunity to Cyril Ngonge, who cut to the left and pushed the ball under Remko Pasveer. However, Ajax did not seem upset by the goal and quickly straightened up again.

Many opportunities were created under the leadership of the outstanding Antony, who showed Isak Määttä to all corners of the field. It led to a new lead after half an hour. Antony dribbled in from the right and made a beautiful shot in the top left corner: 2-1. In the remainder of the first half, Michael Verrips had some great reactions to the bets made by Bergwijn and Taylor, but had to fish for the third time just before half-time. After Bergwijn and Antony had switched sides, the Brazilian delivered the ball on a silver platter to his colleague in the vanguard. Bergwijn’s header was too powerful for Verrips: 3-1.

Lucca’s debut
Even after the break it was Ajax that dominated. Schreuder’s team created chance after chance, but did not always have its sights set on target. After an hour of play, Bergwijn completed his hat-trick. The attacker saw Groningen walking backwards and curled the ball from the left into the far corner. After Jurriën Timber failed to put the 5-1 on the board not much later, Taylor did. The midfielder bounced with the falling Brobbey and finished in a controlled manner. Schreuder then pulled Taylor, Bergwijn and Brobbey to the side and brought Davy Klaassen, Berghuis and Lucca.

Ajax slowed down a bit in the last phase of the match, but still managed to score. After a deep pass from Blind behind the defence, substitute Berghuis headed on Määttä’s arm. Referee Bas Nijhuis missed it, but was helped by the VAR. Berghuis took his place behind the ball and sent Verrips into the wrong corner. Just before the penalty moment, Kudus and Perr Schuurs were also brought into the lines. For the latter it was probably his last minutes in the shirt of Ajax. The defender is well on his way to Torino and will leave Ajax after four years.