Lisandro Martínez was the only Ajax player to reach his level in the 2-1 loss against Go Ahead Eagles, according to Marciano Vink. The analyst of ESPN notes that every game for the Argentine defender is ‘a battle to the death’. Vink believes that perhaps other players should follow Martínez’s attitude.
“Martínez always achieves his level”, says Vink. “Whether he plays for the Argentine national team, at Ajax against Go Ahead Eagles or in the Champions League. He always hits his level and I’m a big fan of his approach. Every match is a life and death struggle for him, he gives everything. You see that every time and maybe other players should take an example from that.”
Vink saw Ajax hand over the match in the first half. “In the phase after Berghuis’ goal, Ajax did play with a certain urgency, you could see that they had received the necessary comment in the dressing room. Then I thought: who knows, it will still be 2-2. But Go Ahead Eagles thought otherwise, despite the fact that there were still a number of opportunities. It could have been 2-2, but Ajax just left it in the first half and that is a shame.”
Ajax coach Erik ten Hag victimized Devyne Rensch in the break and took him to the side in favor of Noussair Mazraoui, who initially remained outside the starting eleven because of ‘some complaints’. “The combination of Mazraoui and Antony has proved successful, it has now been separated,” said Vink. “Now Rensch was hung up on it. But I think the rest of the team also let Rensch sit, in the sense of: if the team had been sharper, he would also have come out better.”