Ajax booked a business practice win on Friday evening. At the Lotto Park, the team of coach Erik ten Hag took on RSC Anderlecht, which was defeated 0-2. Sébastian Haller was the big man on the Amsterdam side with two hits. The striker scored the 0-1 early in the game and put the final score on the scoreboard ten minutes after the break. Ajax will play its next friendly match on July 24 in the Allianz Arena, where Bayern Munich is the opponent.
Ten Hag changed his starting eleven in two places compared to the won exhibition game with SC Paderborn 07 (4-1). Remco Pasveer was preferred over Jay Gorter under the bar. The coach stuck to the same names in the rear and also made no changes in midfield. Zakaria Labyad played in the vanguard in favor of David Neres, who was still a basic player in the previous exhibition games, but was now not part of the match selection. Wesley Hoedt, who came over from Southampton in early July, made his unofficial debut in the Anderlecht shirt. Midfielder Michel Vlap and goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen were not in the match selection of Vincent Kompany’s team.
Ajax comes early on 1-0 thanks to Haller? According to Sierd it could just become a competition where an abacus is needed ??#ZiggoSport #ANDAJA pic.twitter.com/T6ti8ZsySk
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) July 16, 2021
The team from Amsterdam started the meeting energetically, which was broken open in the seventh minute of play. A cross from the right ended up within the box in front of Dusan Tadic, who delivered a measured cross to Haller after a cut. The striker was released completely and nodded against the ropes from close range to make the 0-1. Eight minutes later, the Ivorian had an excellent opportunity to double the lead. Haller got his foot on the ball after a cross near the near post by Youri Baas, but the attacker ran the ball wide.
Halfway through the first half, Mohammed Kudus also came close to scoring. The midfielder got a falling ball at his feet and fired at the goal with the right; however, the bar was in the way of a goal. Ten minutes after the break, the margin was doubled. Tadic created space for the shot on the edge of the box, but decided to play in Labyad on the right. The right winger on duty put the ball back to Haller, who shot in the 0-2 at the penalty spot and after a transfer from Mohamed Kudus.
After an hour of play, Ten Hag decided to make the first substitutions. Labyad gave way to Jurgen Ekkelenkamp, while Kian Fitz-Jim and Ar’Jany Martha entered the field at the expense of Kudus and Victor Jensen. The latter two seemed to be left with an apparently minor injury. In the remainder of the game Anderlecht hardly appeared in the game. Ajax had complete control and played the game out without making excessive efforts. On July 24, the team from Amsterdam will travel to Austria for the training camp.
Ajax setup: feather; Mazraoui, Schuurs, Magallan, Baas; Jensen, Kudus, Taylor; Labyad, Haller, Tadic.