Ahmetcan Kaplan left injured at the end of the first half against Aston Villa. The Ajax centre-back grabbed the back of the thigh after a successful tackle and could not continue. John van 't Schip used the moment for an exceptionally attacking substitution.

Ajax was under pressure for the entire first half. With a corner kick in the 25th minute there was no stopping Ajax. Douglas Luiz put the ball on the head of Ollie Watkins, who headed in with complete freedom: 1-0.

Kaplan seemed to be the direct guardian of the goalscorer, but the Turk had completely lost the Aston Villa striker. Not much later, Kaplan sat down on the grass with an injury.

Remarkably, Chuba Akpom was brought in for Kaplan, a striker for a center back.

Kristian Hlynsson appears to have been moved back from midfield to the position of right wingback by Van 't Schip. Devyne Rensch has moved from the right side to the center of defense. In this way, Ajax's 5-3-2 system is apparently maintained.

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