Kenneth Perez thinks that Ajax is doing ‘quite well’ despite the deficit against Brighton & Hove Albion (0-1 at half time). The analyst of ESPN is full of praise for a tactical discovery by John van ‘t Schip, who has Devyne Rensch play a special role. “It works quite well,” Perez said.
On paper, Rensch plays as a centre-back, where he normally plays as a right-back. “I thought right back Gaaei would be the most advanced defender,” said Perez. “Nothing could be further from the truth. Rensch moves to midfield. They want to have an extra point of contact in midfield. That is the concept. It actually worked quite well.”
This way, Ajax can at times escape the pressure from Brighton. “Rensch pulls a midfielder with him when he collapses, allowing Kristian Hlynsson to become free.” The analyst shows a moment from the first half where the Icelandic number 10 was indeed able to get the ball with a lot of freedom.
Perez thinks that Ajax is doing better than two weeks ago under Hedwiges Maduro in the away match (2-0 loss). “The way in which Ajax puts pressure has also ensured that Brighton has far fewer shots and chances than in England. Ajax is not being ticked cross-eyed. I think Ajax did quite well. Apparently you can also put pressure on Brighton with a solid plan.” .”
Things went wrong for Ajax in the fifteenth minute. Silvano Vos delivered the ball completely unnecessarily to Simon Adingra, who soon afterwards launched Ansu Fati. Face to face with Diant Ramaj, the attacker hired from FC Barcelona had no trouble finding the bottom left corner: 0-1.
Van ‘t Schip intervened in the peace. Kenneth Taylor remained in the locker room. With Chuba Akpom, an extra attacker comes on the field in place of the midfielder.