Saturday, April 30, 2022 at 8:35 PM• Jeroen van Poppel • Last update: 20:40

Ajax has taken a new hurdle on Saturday evening on its way to the national championship. The team from Amsterdam put PEC Zwolle aside on the basis of wonderful goals from Dusan Tadic and Davy Klaassen with large numbers: 3-0. Tadic, who opened the score with a phenomenal shot from the back, simultaneously set an impressive club record: the Serb played 124 consecutive times for Ajax in the Eredivisie, without missing a single competition match. The previous record was held by former goalkeeper Gert Bals (123 consecutive matches between 1965 and 1969). Klaassen scored twice, the last of which was wonderful. Ajax increases the gap to PSV again to seven points, while PEC remains in seventeenth place in relegation problems.

Partly due to the personnel problems in the back, Youri Regeer made his basic debut in the Eredivisie, after Kenneth Taylor already did that a week earlier against NEC (0-1 win). The latter also appeared at kick-off. Ten Hag previously made the remarkable choice to abandon the classic 4-3-3 system and to start with Dusan Tadic and Sébastien Haller as the only attackers. Mohammed Kudus joined the team as the fourth midfielder.

Kenneth Taylor?? Dusan Tadic????#japec #deunion pic.twitter.com/EQn06w5P02

— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) Apr 30, 2022

After forty seconds already, PEC Zwolle had the greatest chance of the first half, when the Ajax goalkeeper seemed to miss a pass from Thomas van den Belt. As a result, Chardi Mpindi Landu had a huge header opportunity from close by, but the young attacker hit the ball completely wrong. Ajax also hunted for the opening goal, but PEC’s defense kept its ranks closed. Ryan Gravenberch produced a roller from seventeen meters, but otherwise Kostas Lamprou was hardly forced to make any saves.

That changed after half an hour of play, when Taylor gave a brilliant deep pass to Tadic. The captain of Ajax took the ball out of the air from the edge of the penalty area and hit the far intersection: 1-0. Things then started to improve at Ajax, but again the visitors came close to a goal when Stekelenburg misjudged a cross. Gervane Kastaneer put his head back from the far post, after which the incoming Daishawn Redan got the ball just behind him and could not tap into the goal. On the stroke of half-time, Kudus broke through on the other side on the left in the box, only to shoot hard from a difficult angle.

Six minutes after the break, Ajax doubled its lead, when Kastaneer let himself get the ball from his own half. The ball then went quickly around to the team from Amsterdam and Tadic put in a low cross over Jurriën Timber. The defender tapped the ball against the post, after which Klaassen could easily walk in the rebound: 2-0. PEC continued to participate and played through a combination between Redan and Kastaneer to a good shooting opportunity, which was ruined by the latter. On the other hand, Haller then missed a huge opportunity by aimlessly overshooting from five yards after Tadic laid the ball in icy calm. Haller seemed a little self-confident throughout the game. Klaassen showed better form by putting the ball in the corner from outside the penalty area phenomenally ten minutes before time: 3-0.