Ajax suffered a loss of points in the Eredivisie on Wednesday evening. In the Johan Cruijff ArenA, the team of trainer Alfred Schreuder was unable to beat Vitesse: 2-2. The Amsterdam goal production was provided by Dusan Tadic and substitute Lorenzo Lucca, while Million Manhoef was twice beautifully accurate on behalf of Vitesse. By playing a draw, Ajax missed the opportunity to take over the lead from PSV, which leads the Eredivisie after thirteen rounds.
Schreuder had again not made room for Daley Blind in his starting eleven, while Brian Brobbey was not completely fit and also started on the bench. Mohammed Kudus started as a striker. Furthermore, Owen Wijndal was fit enough to start, pushing Devyne Rensch to right-back position and Jorge Sánchez having to make way. Due to the suspension of Edson Alvárez, Kenneth Taylor returned to the starting lineup. In midfield, Schreuder also had base places in store for Steven Berghuis and Davy Klaassen.
Million Manhoef shows Jurriën Timber his heels ??#ajavit
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Ajax shot from the starting blocks and already found the opening goal after five minutes of play. Tadic tapped in from close range after an excellent pass from Steven Bergwijn. Although Kudus came close to 2-0 and hit the post, the field game of the Ajax players quickly went downhill. Vitesse came alongside halfway through the first half. Timber suffered a clumsy loss of possession near the hostile sixteen, after which Manhoef was able to take over. After a phenomenal sprint over approximately sixty meters, he finally passed goalkeeper Remko Pasveer: 1-1.
In the second half, Ajax increased the pressure and they were emphatically looking for a new lead. First goalkeeper Daan Reiziger prevented Bergwijn from making the 2-1; then Kudus wiped out a huge opportunity. Before Schreuder made a triple substitution, Wijndal and Tadic also had excellent opportunities that were not used. With Francisco Conceição within the lines, among others, the pressure on Reiziger’s goal was increased even further. The Portuguese himself had the opportunity to score a few minutes after coming on, but he made the wrong choice.
Twenty minutes before time, Vitesse suddenly struck. Shortly after both Blind and Berghuis had hit the crossbar, Manhoef scored again. The left winger was much too quick for Ajax’s defense and made the 1-2 in almost identical way to the 1-1. This time goalkeeper Remko Pasveer didn’t seem to go unpunished. Five minutes after the goal, Ajax already put things in order. Substitute Lucca nodded inside from Blind’s cross: 2-2. In the final phase, Mohamed Sankoh came close to 2-3 after a horrific blunder by Calvin Bassey, but Pasveer kept his team going. No more goals were scored in the remaining eight minutes of stoppage time, although Brobbey came close with a shot on the post.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PSV | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 23 | 30 |
| 2 | Ajax | 13 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 27 | 29 |
| 3 | Feyenoord | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 27 |
| 4 | FC Twente | 13 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 26 |
| 5 | AZ | 13 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 26 |
| 6 | Sparta Rotterdam | 13 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 23 |
| 7 | FC Utrecht | 13 | 6 | 3 | 4 | -2 | 21 |
| 8 | sc Heerenveen | 13 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 20 |
| 9 | RKC Waalwijk | 13 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 17 |
| 10 | NEC | 13 | 2 | 8 | 3 | -2 | 14 |
| 11 | Go Ahead Eagles | 13 | 3 | 5 | 5 | -3 | 14 |
| 12 | Excelsior | 13 | 4 | 1 | 8 | -17 | 13 |
| 13 | Fortuna Sittard | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | -8 | 12 |
| 14 | Fc Groningen | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | -11 | 12 |
| 15 | Vitesse | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | -13 | 12 |
| 16 | FC Emmen | 13 | 2 | 4 | 7 | -14 | 10 |
| 17 | SC Cambuur | 12 | 2 | 2 | 8 | -11 | 8 |
| 18 | FC Volendam | 13 | 1 | 3 | 9 | -22 | 6 |