The day after Ajax’s 4-2 victory over Sporting Portugal, the Dutch morning newspapers are extremely positive about the role of Sébastien Haller and Antony during the game. Haller scored his tenth goal in the group stage against the reigning champions of Portugal, a milestone only Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski achieved in the first round of the tournament.
Ajax managed to win all six group matches in the Champions League at the same time, something that a Dutch club had never managed to do before. “The most important guide in the beautiful series is Sébastien Haller, who also reached a milestone in the empty Johan Cruijff Arena himself,” writes The Parool. “Haller completed the feat early in the game against Sporting. He converted a penalty in the eighth minute. That was his tenth goal in the Champions League and with that he scores more in that tournament than in the Eredivisie, in which he has scored nine times so far.”
“The cards in Group C had already been shuffled, fans were missing in the Johan Cruijff ArenA, but Ajax still found challenges in various records to also accelerate the last game against Sporting Portugal”, concludes. The Telegraph, which thought the second goal of Antony’s game was the best of the evening. “Antony took care of the most beautiful one by sending two Portuguese with Romario-like false stairs into the woods along the way.”
It General Newspaper labels Ajax after the group stage as a ‘dark horse’ for the remainder of the tournament. “Judging from the group stage, the stunt team has the pleasant property of being able to effortlessly increase the intensity as soon as the resistance increases, as was also the case in 2019. If you dig in, then Ajax is able to punch holes in the wall with smooth combination play. If you come out of your shell, you risk cutting yourself in the fast attack machine.”
However, the newspaper also sees a clear difference with 2019, when Ajax was eliminated by Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-finals of the Champions League. “After all, three years ago, less attention was paid to Ajax. After this impressive series, and certainly with the stunts from three years ago in mind, opponents can’t be underestimated.” General Newspaper. Also de Volkskrant draws a parallel with the 2018/19 Champions League season.
“Once again, Ten Hag has formed a team with footballing ingenuity, creativity and movement. The stars from then, Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt, Donny van de Beek and Hakim Ziyech, are a thing of the past. Today’s stars bear the name Antony, Steven Berghuis and Sébastien Haller,” the conclusion reads. Fidelity calls trainer Erik ten Hag and director of football affairs Marc Overmars the architects of this Ajax.
“The success of Ajax stands out in Europe”, writes Fidelity. “Tuesday evening it also worked on that prestige, in a game in which only honours, records and premiums were at stake. In the second half Ajax swinged at times. That also had a lot to do with the glorified B-team of Sporting Clube de Lisbon. Ajax missed many opportunities, but eventually won 4-2. It was the sixth win in a row in the group stage, which no Dutch club has done before in this elite tournament. Goal difference: 20-5. Sébastien Haller scored in all six games, his total is now ten.”