Steven Berghuis is happy with his first goal for Ajax. The summer acquisition of Ajax, who replaced Davy Klaassen as attacking midfielder, made the 1-3 on Wednesday evening during Ajax’s victory over Sporting Portugal (1-5). Berghuis agrees in conversation with RTL7 that he came to Ajax for ‘nights like this’. “It’s just a pleasure to play against the champions of Portugal on such a stage,” he beams.
“I enjoy my goal, but also other things: the interaction with fellow players, Antony who plays fantastic, Haller who plays fantastic. That is enjoyment”, Berghuis sums up. He himself scored six minutes before half-time. Antony found Ryan Gravenberch from the right flank, who in his assumption used his opponent as a turntable and served Berghuis. The attacker cleverly took the ball into the box and was able to tap in. “It fit exactly. Ryan played it in tightly. I think my assumption was fantastic, and with that I create my own chance. I looked at the keeper for a while and finally decided to take the short corner. It worked out well. “
GOAL! A goal fest in Lisbon. Steven Berghuis puts Ajax at 1-3 after a wonderful attack. That is another safe margin for the Amsterdammers. #UCL #SPOAJA pic.twitter.com/bp5GS7qYmK
— VTBL ? (@vtbl) September 15, 2021
Berghuis scored his first goal as an Ajax player. Did he need that hit? “Not necessarily necessary. Of course you want to score as quickly as possible for your new club, but I think I have also been important with creating opportunities and assists,” the attacker who came over from Feyenoord makes clear. “In the end, if you keep working to get into the position, the goals cannot be missed. Today I also have my runs made to score and then you will be rewarded in the end.”
Normally Berghuis plays as a right winger, but he is set up as an attacking midfielder because Klaassen has groin problems and alternatives such as Zakaria Labyad and Mohammed Kudus are also not available. The new position is ‘quite good’. “If you go in from the right side, you also end up in that position a bit. You now have a little more freedom to move left and right. And you have an extra play option in front of you, with the right winger (Antony, red .). So it can also be a really nice position.”
However, the question is who will be at the forefront of Ajax when everyone is fit. Erik ten Hag points out that David Neres, who replaced Antony twenty minutes before the end, also played ‘extremely well’. The competition is therefore great. “We need that,” says Ten Hag. “We have such a broad frame. They have to fight it out together. Then we will see. We also look at form, or at tactics, to make good choices.” In the studio, Sneijder predicts that Klaassen will play anyway, if he is available again.
“Tonight Antony has shown that he is of solid value. Then you will have to choose between those three: Berghuis, Haller and Tadic. Well, Tadic is your captain. So I think Berghuis will be the child of the bill after all. Sneijder fears. Dirk Kuyt speaks of a luxury position for Ten Hag. “As a coach you just want this. You can go in all directions. You play so many matches, so you don’t have to play with the same team every time. Everyone has to play at the top of their game in the front.” In ‘s studio Ziggo Sports Rafael van der Vaart speaks of a very difficult choice, but he sees Berghuis ‘more like a right winger’. “He should also focus on that, especially if Klaassen is fit.”