Thursday, March 11, 2021 at 9:01 PM• Last update: 21:48

Ajax took a big step towards the quarter finals of the Europa League on Thursday evening. Through goals from Davy Klaassen, Dusan Tadic and Brian Brobbey, Erik ten Hag’s team won 3-0 against Young Boys. Football zone judges the basic players of Ajax with a score.

Maarten Stekelenburg: 6.5
Stekelenburg did not have to make real saves, but the keeper did what he had to do at the most important moments. Stekelenburg easily picked crosses from the air and, if necessary, continued the game quickly. His kicks often did not arrive at their destination.

Devyne Rensch: 6
Rensch was on paper right back, but often came home and was regularly found in midfield or even in the forefront. He had some shaky moments defensively, such as when Rensch allowed himself to be trumped by Miralem Sulejmani after half an hour and with a bit of luck received a free kick, or when he had himself cut out by Elia Meschak, whose cross did not arrive to Ajax’s relief. He alternated those moments with good defensive actions on the enemy half. Halfway through the second half, Rensch was replaced by Perr Schuurs.

Jurriën Timber: 7
The center-back often moved to midfield and thus made a good contribution to the build-up. Timber searched and found Antony several times in the first half and was responsible for some fine interceptions in the back. The young Timber held up very well, even when he moved to right back position in the second half after Rensch’s substitution. He did not play conspicuously, but hardly made any mistakes; an important intervention was the won duel with Jean Pierre Nsame, when Timber walked with the striker and deservedly dragged a goal kick out of the fire.

Lisandro Martínez: 6.5
Two sloppy moments were blemishes on Martínez’s match. After thirteen minutes, he sent a risky lead-in pass to Gravenberch, which was intercepted by Young Boys. Martínez was lucky that the visitors did not punish the mistake. He then missed trying to intercept the ball after defending Young Boys and Timber cleared up his mistake. Overall, however, Martínez can be satisfied. For example, he sent the most successful passes (102) of all players on the field

Nicolás Tagliafico: 7.5
The left back put a lot of energy into the game. His fierceness was needed to provide the at times uninspired Ajax with an injection. One of his best defensive moments was an interception in first-half injury time, which helped Tagliafico prevent a three-on-three situation for Young Boys. From an offensive point of view, the Argentinian was important with an interception of a pass from Cédric Zesiger, after which his shot was blocked and Tadic could take care of the 2-0 in the second instance.

Edson Álvarez: 7.5
Álvarez conquered the ball no less than seventeen times; no other player on the field equaled that number. Especially in the air, Álvarez didn’t seem right. With a pass to Klaassen through the axis of the field, Álvarez also played a small role in the opening goal. Nsame in particular had a difficult evening due to the presence of Álvarez. In minute 43, the Mexican reached the ball before the striker at an important moment; fifteen minutes before the end he put him with a beautiful sliding of the ball around the penalty area of ​​Ajax.
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Davy Klaassen: 6.5
Klaassen stood out in the first half with some handy playthrough passes and fierce ball conquests. However, as the most advanced midfielder, Klaassen also has the task of ensuring target danger and he did not do that sufficiently before half-time. After the break, however, he made it 1-0 with a controlled shot after a combination with Tadic.

Ryan Gravenberch: 6.5
Gravenberch was of value in the first half with interceptions and his ball stability. For example, clever was the way in which he took advantage of poor defending at Young Boys after fifteen minutes, protected the ball and took out; goalkeeper Guillaume Faivre saved. The midfielder helped the game forward and was at the basis of several dangerous moments. After the break, his unfortunate final passes were also noticeable, until Gravenberch assisted substitute Brian Brobbey with the 3-0.

Antony: 6
Antony was replaced halfway through the second half by Oussama Idrissi and visibly disappointed. He probably thought he should have scored at least once. The attacker bumped into keeper Faivre after five minutes with his wrong right leg. Shortly afterwards, he headed wide on a pass from Tadic and in the second half he shot just wide of the turn, after the winger protected the ball well. Antony created a threat and often sought the combination with teammates, but was by no means always clear enough in the passing.

Dusan Tadic: 7.5
Sometimes Tadic is not very involved in Ajax’s attacking game in European matches, but that was the case this time. He gave the assist to Klaassen’s 1-0, made the 2-0 himself and in any case combined often and well with teammates. For example, a one-two with Neres led to a hard shot from the latter after sixteen minutes and a cross on Tagliafico resulted in a header opportunity for Álvarez shortly after the break. If Tadic tried it himself, such as with his waiver after half an hour or a big missed opportunity in the seventy-minute minute, the result was a lot less convincing, until he made the 2-0 in a controlled manner in the final phase. He was also strong in the duels.

David Neres: 6.5
He cleverly cut out Fabian Lustenberger after just over an hour, after which Neres’s speed of action fell short to score. It kind of marked the match of Neres, who created a threat without really biting: for example, he shot hard in the side net in the first half and he ended up nicely in the sixteen on his own, but did not get a shot. Neres did have a razor-sharp cross to Tadic twenty minutes before the end, after which the attacker shot wide, and he was important in the run-up to the 2-0.