Things are going fast in football. Last season, Ajax Amsterdam was in a cloud. The Dutch club reached the semi-finals of the Champions League and thrilled the world of football with its vertical licked game. In 2019-2020, after losing several major players during the winter transfer window - De Jong went to Barça, De Ligt to Juventus - he returned to earth. Eliminated from the Champions League during the group stages, Eredivisie's training was transferred to the Europa League. And his debut in the competition, in the round of 16, was not conclusive.
Harmless in the first leg
Facing Getafe, Erik ten Hag's men foiled. They lost 2 goals to 0 in Spain after achievements by Deyverson (37th) and Kenedy after additional time (90th + 3). Worse, Ajax, so complimented for its attacking play in 2018-2019, was not able to produce play. The Dutch had the ball (66% of possession) but they only shot at goal twice. Neither of these two shots was on target ... Insufficient for a team that still counted players like Ziyech, Tadic or Van de Beek on the field.
Getafe's 2-0 win over Ajax in the first leg
An expected reaction
The Dutch team is therefore expected at the turn this Thursday evening for the return match against Getafe. Especially since it bowed last weekend in the league against Heracles (1-0). To reverse the situation, Ajax players will have to put more speed into their transmissions and have more technical accuracy in the last thirty meters of Getafe. Elimination in the knockout stages of the Europa League would task a club that reached the semi-finals of the Champions League a year ago.
Read also
- The calendar for the Europa League's 16th finals
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