Whereas yesterday went down as an almost exclusively English night, this evening is reserved for Europe’s classic football giants. Ajax, Juventus, Manchester United and FC Barcelona are all clubs with a gigantic reputation, meaning both of these encounters have significant backstory and intrigue in them, in addition to tactical questions posed. Written by Erik Elias, […]
A youthful Ajax side stole the hearts of many football fans around the world by putting up a brave performance, and getting rewarded for it this time. In a perfect storm of events, Ajax quickly ran out to a two goal lead, which put them in the driver’s seat for the remainder of the game. […]
Real Madrid were second best the whole game, largely because of Ajax’s fierce high press and quality on the ball. But the best team sometimes does not win in a game of football, and that was exactly the case in this intriguing Champions League round of 16 match-up. Tactical analysis and match report by Om […]
Isn’t this the best time of the year? The winter cold slowly fades away, to be replaced by the thin and hopeful sunlight of early spring. Club football enters its decisive phase, with lots to play for in every competition. Whatsmore, we’ve got Champions League football lined up this week. The world’s most watched competition […]
This game was fun, y’all. Really, really fun. Some smart tactical tweaks, a few brilliant goals, some of the most gifted young players in football, two bizarre red cards and a whole lot of twists and turns in the final minutes. Bayern look steadier than they did a month ago. While this very young Ajax […]
For the second time in two weeks, Ajax and Benfica prove to be very evenly matched teams. Where the first meeting between these two sides was an end-to-end, dynamic affair, the return-leg in this crucial Champions League group stage game was more of ‘a tale of two halves’. In the two weeks since their first […]
This was a truly entertaining, international-level game between two clubs who are not from one of Europe’s ‘Big Five’ competitions. Ajax’s young right-back Noussair Mazraoui turned out to be the unlikely hero of the night, with his deflected long shot in the 93rd minute deciding a very tight, hard-fought game in the hosts’ favor. Make […]
After dropping points in two consecutive Bundesliga matches – a shock, by the lofty standards for the German Rekordmeister – Bayern almost lost at home to Ajax, thanks to a gutsy game plan by manager Erik ten Hag and even better execution from his players. Bayern are still one of the best teams in European […]
AEK Athens was able to frustrate Ajax in the Johan Cruijff ArenA for exactly one half. After a quick opening goal after half-time, Ajax showed its abilities against an AEK that might not be a Champions League worthy opponent. Ajax had some demons to shake off tonight. The past four years were rough, from a […]