Sunday, November 28, 2021 at 2:08 PM• Mart Oude Nijeweeme • Last update: 14:14

Ajax booked a difficult victory in the Eredivisie on Sunday afternoon. The team of trainer Erik ten Hag was not in the least convincing during a visit to Sparta Rotterdam, but did win: 0-1. Dusan Tadic turned out to be the match winner with the only goal of the match. After an hour of play, the game was briefly stopped by Jochem Kamphuis, who did not consider it responsible to continue playing due to fireworks in the corner of the stadium. Thanks to the victory, Ajax has a three-point lead over pursuer PSV, which will visit sc Heerenveen later in the afternoon.

Ten Hag could not have Sébastien Haller and Antony against Sparta. Haller stayed behind in Amsterdam due to illness, while Antony also turned out not to be fit enough. The place of the French Ivorian striker was taken by Danilo, who was in the starting line-up for the first time this season. David Neres replaced Antony as right winger. According to Ten Hag, who in the past also posted Tadic in the striker position, the choice for Danilo was ‘a logical one’. “I expect that we will play a lot in the half of Sparta, with many situations in the sixteen. That is the quality of Danilo. He is the best finisher in the sixteen, so I am very curious,” he said before the game. ESPN.

However, Ajax was extremely poor at Het Kasteel and was unable to convert the field dominance in the initial phase of the game into great opportunities. The best chance even went to the home side. After a good play by Emanuel Emegha on the left, Ryan Gravenberch unluckily tapped the ball in front of Vito van Crooij, who just missed Remko Pasveer’s goal. The latter started at Ajax again in the base, after he was passed by André Onana in the Champions League match against Besiktas (1-2). His colleague on the side of Sparta, Maduka Okoye, had to stop the game halfway through the first half due to a shoulder injury and was replaced by former Ajax player Benjamin van Leer.

Van Leer saw Ajax come into the match after half an hour of play. The team from Amsterdam had the equalizer on the shoe via Danilo, but the striker shot over from close range when Van Leer had to release a header from Edson Álvarez. Two minutes later, Tadic was accurate. After a cross from Noussair Mazraoui, Danilo extended the ball to Tadic, after which it was a breeze for the captain to finish from close range: 0-1. The last achievement of the first half, a header by Danilo after a cross by Neres, missed direction and was easily caught by Van Leer.

The second half was barely worth the look at times and only caused a stir after an hour of play, when supporters threw fireworks from the corner of the stadium. After a short interruption, referee Kamphuis resumed the game. For a moment, Berghuis seemed to double the score fifteen minutes before the end on a pass from Tadic, but the left leg’s attempt went wide. Ten Hag then brought Davy Klaassen within the lines for Danilo, but saw how his team continued to muddle against the low flyer. The last opportunity of the game was destroyed by Nicolás Tagliafico, who came in for Daley Blind, who saw his shot turned by Van Leer.