These statistics characterize Ajax’s defensive vulnerability and mediocre fielding


Friday, October 6, 2023 at 2:30 PM• Jordi Tomasowa • Last update: 2:46 PM

Ajax retained a point in the Europa League match with AEK Athens (1-1) on Thursday evening. While coach Maurice Steijn was remarkably positive about his players afterwards, various statistics show that Ajax is still extremely vulnerable defensively and that there is no question of good fielding under the coach. The grueling program does not make Steijn’s task to get Ajax up and running and save his own job any easier.

By Jordi Tomasowa

Ajax has already conceded eighteen goals under Steijn this season. The team also gave away many chances against AEK Athens. The team from Amsterdam have only played two matches in the Europa League – against AEK and Olympique Marseille (3-3) – but have already conceded 48 goal attempts in these matches, the highest number of all 32 participants. The statistics are telling: teams from Poland, Serbia, Sweden and Moldova are less vulnerable in this area than Ajax.

Steijn has still not succeeded in positioning his team in such a way that it is difficult for the opponent to create opportunities. “I just read a statistic that we conceded thirteen shots in the first half,” Berghuis said afterwards in front of the club channel cameras. “That is just way too many. We have to be critical of that, because about the long run you just don’t win matches,” said a critical Berghuis.

Immediately after the match against AEK, Steijn discussed the fielding and the major defensive vulnerabilities of his team. “Things definitely need to improve on the ball. But, and I also look at that, they did defend well in the box. They defended the crosses. They have held their own. I thought it looked good defensively. I’m happy to see progress. We all know what happened. It has been a difficult start. Peace returns to the entire club. What I mainly see is that a team is emerging. That was quite difficult at the beginning, we all know that.”

‘Ridiculously positive’
Several analysts then wondered why Steijn was so positive about his team. “Of course he also thinks about what he is going to say after such a match,” said Kenneth Perez ESPN. “Are you going to keep it positive, like he is doing now, or are you going to keep the bar high and say negative things? I did have trainers who were much milder in the press than in the locker room. It would also be wise to approach everyone very critically if your own position is already so shaky.”

Marciano Vink saw that Steijn has also become milder than at the start of the season. “At first he was critical, but he was mocked for that. From that moment on he started approaching all those players in an almost ridiculously positive way, even though it just wasn’t right. Now I think he is trying to turn it into a team, to become more critical again when the results come.”

Besides the fact that the defensive organization often seems difficult to find, there are still few patterns to be discovered with the ball. Steijn said that the field play ‘absolutely must be better’, but prior to the match against AEK he already announced that his team would mainly use the long ball to get out of the high pressure from the Greeks. “We have to skip players. AEK plays one-on-one almost over the entire field, so we should not fall into the trap of playing a very short game.”

However, against AEK, Ajax’s midfield is skipped extremely often and the Amsterdam defense often opts for the long ball, especially at Brobbey. Sports data company Sofa score has no fewer than 72 long balls, of which only 28 arrive. It was also noticeable against Feyenoord how often Gorter uses the long ball.

Extremely sloppy construction
Whenever Ajax tries to build from the back against AEK, things often go wrong quickly. The central duo Josip Sutalo – Gastón Ávila in particular had to suffer afterwards. “Did you see those two centre-backs? That Gastón Ávila… It’s one big joke,” said Perez ESPN, while Kees Kwakman also pointed to Josip Sutalo. “He comes into spaces to defend, he has never experienced that before. He has to cover, he has to go to the right back position. But he is late everywhere. It’s just not right.”

“The tactical plan is not clear with those guys,” Perez said. “Or those guys really can’t do anything at all. Apparently you have to explain it to these players in Jip and Janneke language. If you have the ball as a central defender, for example Ávila, then the midfielders present themselves. Only if he chooses to play to the wrong color every time, it becomes very difficult.”

In all European matches over the past ten years, no player has had a lower passing accuracy than Ávila against AEK, according to data from Opta. This only includes players who made more than 100 passes in a match. The Argentinian lost the ball no less than 29 times on Thursday evening and had a passing accuracy of only 74 percent, a negative record in the past decade. Perez believes that Steijn should intervene. “With Ávila you cannot play at the center back. It is very dangerous. Or you put him at left back, where he hurts less. Or he should not play at all.”

Tough program
None of the last six matches in all competitions were won. The last time this happened was in 2000. It is therefore not surprising that the pressure on Steijn increases with the match. Ajax was on its way to a 2-3 win in the abandoned match against RKC, but the remainder will not be played until December 6. After a dramatic start to the season, the Amsterdam team is currently in a disappointing fifteenth place in the Eredivisie.

Because the competition match with FC Volendam will not be made up for another month, it does not seem likely that Ajax will be able to leave the right row quickly. Moreover, the program for Steijn’s team in the coming weeks is not to be missed. Next Sunday, AZ will visit the Johan Cruijff ArenA, followed by away matches with FC Utrecht, Brighton & Hove Albion and PSV later this month.