Ajax qualified for the eighth finals of the Europa League on Thursday evening at the expense of Lille OSC. After a 1-2 victory in France, the team of trainer Erik ten Hag was 2-1 too strong at home. In the French media, there is talk of a hard lesson for Lille, which missed various opportunities to score in the Johan Cruijff ArenA. Reference is made, among other things, to the final phase of the first match, in which the leader of the Ligue 1 gave up a 1-0 lead.
Ajax took the lead by a goal from Davy Klaassen, after which Yusuf Yazici brought the tension back into the match fifteen minutes before the end with a utilized penalty kick. In the final phase, David Neres signed for the winning goal after an assist from Brian Brobbey. “Where Lille is dominant in Ligue 1 this season, it still has a lot to learn on the European stage,” writes L’Équipe. “LOSC will be disappointed with the loss in Amsterdam, but the club can now focus on the competition, which was already the priority this season. Lille can only learn from these kinds of competitions. In the final phase, Lille insisted, but it was Neres who put an end to all hopes of passing Brobbey. End of story.”
RMC Sport Lille saw a better appearance than a week ago, when Ajax controlled the match: “Unlike last week’s match, Lille was not outclassed in Amsterdam and it showed an interesting performance. Halfway through the match, Ajax could already have taken a 2-0 lead, if Devyne Rensch had taken his chance. Mike Maignan has done everything to keep Lille alive. He had excellent saves at home on opportunities from Davy Klaassen and David Neres. In the final phase Ajax did not lean back, but continued to play football and benefited from Lille’s urge to attack. LOSC can now focus on the title race. Maybe luck in an accident. ”
Not enough for Sven Botman
France Football scattered with failures. Sven Botman is rated with a four, the lowest on the Lille side. Goalkeeper Maignan gets a seven for his performance against Ajax, Renato Sanches a six. “The Portuguese will undoubtedly remain frustrated after this meeting. Several decisions of the arbitration against him can be questioned ”, the arbitration is pointed out. “At the end of the first half he was pushed to the ground by Antony in the penalty area and he was wrongly denied a penalty kick. Despite this, Renato Sanches played a solid game. This performance is very promising for the title race. ”
The leading French magazine is full of praise for Dusan Tadic. The Serbian captain of Ajax is rated with a seven for his performance against Lille. “Just like last week in Lille, Tadic showed his technical baggage. He took care of the decisive preparatory work for Klaassen’s goal. The former Southampton forward once again showed that he was able to dictate the pace through his style of play and insight into the game. “Neres’ goal with Brobbey’s preparatory work was one out of the book.” Klaassen also gets a seven, Ryan Gravenberch and Neres are the other Ajax players with a pass (six). Apart from Antony (four), the other Ajax players receive a five, while the Scottish referee William Collum is assessed with a four.
The possible opponents of Ajax in the next round of the Europa League
The draw for the eighth finals of the Europa League will take place on Friday afternoon.
Response Christophe Galtier
The French media not only criticizes the referee, but also questions Christophe Galtier’s position. He saw José Fonte drop out just before the game because he was not fit enough. Record purchase Jonathan David (acquired from AA Gent for 27 million euros), among others, started on the bank. Yusuf Yazici, who was disappointed in the first leg, gained confidence. Galtier cannot accept the accusation that he did not take the match against Ajax seriously. “I cannot accept that being said. That is simply not true. Of the team that started, nine played in the San Siro and that was a great game (0-3 win against AC Milan, ed.). I guessed that David was physically on tiptoe. Besides, I haven’t got Burak Yilmaz back yet. The team has done what I asked of them today. ”
Galtier refused to point to the referee after the elimination. He hopes that his team will learn from the double encounter with Ajax. “What I will remember about this round is that you have to play more than one good match to qualify. You have to be good at both matches to have a chance. That is a lesson we must learn from this. ” Galtier blames his team for a lack of maturity and points to the final phase. “Last week we gave it away in the last ten minutes. That was ten minutes, if you look at what the team showed today. ”