After every game played by Ajax there is plenty to talk about. Perhaps the attacking game was flashy, or the tactical plan was perfect for the opponent. Behind it are numerous statistics, which say something about both individual performance and overall performance. Ajax lost 0-1 to FC Utrecht on Sunday: what do the statistics say?
If you wouldn’t know any better and would just look at the statistics, you will see little difference with the previous matches. Ajax had 69 percent of the ball possession and the home team came up with 20 opportunities in total. Ajax scored six times, while the team was able to create a total of four life-size opportunities. The visitors made eight shots, four of which were on target.
Ajax made 594 passes in the duel with FC Utrecht. That is more than 100 less than in the duel with Besiktas, although there are still a lot of them. It can, however, be an explanation for the ‘lower tempo’ of Ajax. Ajax also achieved a pass purity of 83 percent. FC Utrecht made only 274 passes and the visitors were not very clean: only 62 percent of the passes arrived.
reproach
Let’s keep it positive for a while and take the statistically best Ajax player of Sunday: Edson Álvarez. The Mexican did not renounce FC Utrecht and once again showed why he is indispensable in midfield for trainer Erik ten Hag. With one intervention, blocking a shot once, three interceptions and winning the ball five times, Álvarez once again proved his worth.
Álvarez also showed himself in the duels . On the ground he won seven of the twelve duels, while in the air he proved the strongest in four of the seven. On the ball, the Mexican rose above the team’s average: 86 percent of Álvarez’s passes came to a teammate.
Haller continues killing huge opportunities
Not so long ago Sébastien Haller hailed for his four goals in the Champions League match against Sporting Portugal. However, one swallow does not make a summer and that also applies to Haller. In the sports world you are only as good as your last game and it is therefore logical that the criticism of the striker is increasing.
Haller was accurate against Besiktas, but he also missed three very big chances. He continued that series in the duel with FC Utrecht. Against his old club Haller missed two very big chances. In the initial phase of the game, he got the ball on the silver platter from Dusan Tadic. The striker only had to run the ball in, but he shot wide. And even after the break he missed twice from close by, after which Tadic was unable to score in the second rebound of that attack.
Haller came against FC Utrecht in the 73 minutes that he barely played in the piece for that matter. He hit the ball only 24 times. In addition, of the thirteen passes he gave, only seven arrived: a pass purity of 54 percent.
Is the criticism of David Neres justified?
David Neres was allowed to start again against FC Utrecht to start. The Brazilian did not score or provide assists and afterwards he was criticized. Antony would have done things differently at certain times, and therefore perhaps better.
Looking at Neres’ performance, his statistics are not bad. On the contrary. Neres achieved a pass purity of 85 percent, delivered one keypass and also created one very big chance. It can be said that Neres was not very actively involved with Ajax. The attacker had only 43 ball contacts in 57 minutes.
Antony was significantly more active as a substitute with 37 ball contacts in 33 minutes. The substitute achieved two key passes and had a pass purity of 82 percent. Moreover, Antony came into the duels more often – he won four out of six – than Neres. Neres came to only two duels in almost an hour, of which he won one. Moreover, Neres only managed to dribble one, while Antony managed to get to three dribbles in half an hour.
Berghuis does not get any return from his actions
Steven Berghuis, who has been in excellent shape in recent weeks was unable to impress against FC Utrecht. The attacking midfielder was again present in Ajax’s attacking game. Berghuis was good for no less than four keypasses and he also gave a cross eight times. Of those eight crosses, only one came in well. The difference between an excellent and a lesser game is quickly made: if two of those eight crosses would have resulted in a goal, everyone speaks of a good game from Berghuis.
Incidentally, it was Berghuis on the ball fairly sloppy. In total he suffered 23 loss of the ball and he was also not the strongest in the duels on Sunday. Of the nine duels he entered in total, he won only two.
Tagliafico doesn’t impress, Blind doesn’t have a great substitution
Ten Hag chose to play with Nicolás Tagliafico against FC Utrecht. to play as a left back. The Argentinian had an excellent defensive move by blocking a shot, but the crowd favorite didn’t show enough offensively. Tagliafico made only 42 ball contacts in an hour of playing time and he never gave a key pass. Moreover, he failed to give a successful cross.
Substitute Daley Blind, who normally excels in passing between the lines, did not give any keypasses in his playing time of just over thirty minutes. Moreover, with eleven loss of the ball, Blind was even more sloppy than Tagliafico, who lost the ball ten times. It is true that Blind ventured the long ball five times, three of which arrived at a teammate. Tagliafico did not make any long passes.
Bart Veenstra
(Twitter: @Bart_Veenstra | email: b. veenstra@ajaxshowtime.com)
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