Sébastien Haller was once again decisive for Ajax on Wednesday evening by heading in the late winning goal against Borussia Dortmund (1-3 win). According to Marco van Basten, the French-Ivorian striker did not play well, but he compensated a lot by being there at a crucial moment. Dirk Kuyt even speaks of ‘a fantastic goal’.
Ajax chased a lead in Dortmund in excess and found it in the 83rd minute, when a good cross from Antony was cleverly extended with the head by Haller. “Those are the balls that have to fall well, and they fell well here,” says Van Basten at Ziggo Sports. “This was also the only thing that Haller did well, I have to be honest. It wasn’t that great before that, but if he can limit himself to these kinds of important moments, then in principle he does what he was made for. Then you can not much else to say.” Kuyt comes on RTL 7 to a similar conclusion. “A fantastic goal, a very good striker goal,” said the former Feyenoord player. “We have seen him little, but this is decisive. He puts his body in between. A perfect goal.”
Sebastien Haller Again he and the match seems decided ??#ZiggoSport #UCL #DORAJX pic.twitter.com/H4bSSy5K99
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) Nov 3, 2021
Haller himself appeared happy in front of the camera of Ziggo Sports. “Our start was not so good,” admits the Ajax attacker. “The first half was really bad for us, in many aspects of the game. How can that be? That’s a good question. I don’t know exactly, but we didn’t have enough guts on the ball. Maybe we missed a bit of focus, concentration. We were up against ten men, so we had to be patient and wait for the space to come. Knowing how good we are on the ball, we had to wait for space. That was the key: don’t rush.”
After four matches in the Champions League, Haller is on a spectacular number of seven goals. Moreover, Ajax has already qualified for the next round. “It is a good tournament for me, but that is also possible because of the team,” said the center striker. “That ensures that I get a lot of opportunities. I am happy with my performance and to be able to help the team. Already qualified, that is of course very special. It is the first time that I am active in this tournament, so it is special. But we have to stay focused, we still have two games to go, which we also have to win.”