Ajax achieved a very high level in the away match against SC Heerenveen. That is the opinion of Kees Kwakman, who was impressed by the game of the Amsterdam team in the Abe Lenstra Stadium.
An opportunity to do great business beckoned for Ajax on Sunday afternoon, after losing points to all competitors earlier in the weekend. That also brought pressure. Francesco Farioli’s team handled this very well and were convincing, Kwakman thought.
“If Ajax plays football like that, like today, and defends like that, then it could be a lot of fun,” said the ESPN analyst with a view to the title battle. With the 0-2 win, Ajax has closed in on leader PSV by one point. ‘This was really one of the best matches of Ajax’s season. It was very mature. They gave away almost nothing.”
Standings Eredivisie 2024/2025
The Netherlands
1
PSV
19
15
1
3
62-18
+44
46
2
Ajax
19
14
3
2
41-17
+24
45
3
-FC Utrecht
19
12
4
3
36-29
+7
40
4
Feyenoord
19
10
6
3
42-24
+18
36
* Current until January 19. 2025
Statistics support Kwakman’s assessment. For example, Heerenveen’s goal attempts were only 0.51 Expected Goals. In its last four league matches, Ajax’s score was always less than 1.00 Expected Goals to. In the Abe Lenstra Stadium, Farioli’s team kept a clean sheet for the ninth time in this Eredivisie season. Ajax is when it comes to clean sheets number one, followed by AZ and PSV (both seven).
Ajax left the ball to Heerenveen relatively often, but rarely lost control. The fact that the team from Amsterdam can handle more ball possession for the opponent this season is evident from the statistics below. For the fifth time in this Eredivisie season, Ajax had less ball possession than the opponent. Ajax won all five matches.
Feyenoord will form the next hurdle in the Eredivisie for Ajax on February 2 in the Johan Cruijff Arena. The Amsterdam team first plays against RFS and Galatasaray in the Europa League.
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