Ajax is also roaring through in Europe, partly thanks to the leading role of the crazy Brobbey – Voetbal International

Ajax defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa League on Thursday evening with convincing figures. Brian Brobbey played a leading role for the Amsterdam team with one goal and two assists. The striker found the net for the first time since August 29 for Ajax, which occupies second place in the Europa League.

Ajax coach Francesco Farioli opted for five new players against Maccabi after the home game against PSV. Captain Jordan Henderson and Wout Weghorst, among others, started on the bench and were replaced by Branco van den Boomen and Brobbey. The striker, who had only scored once for Ajax until Thursday evening this season, failed to score the opening goal within a few minutes.

Brobbey was sent into the depth by Mika Godts and then shot alone in front of Maccabi goalkeeper Roi Mishpati against the goalie’s head, who then had to recover. After about fifteen minutes, Brobbey was still successful at the Israeli goal. Not by scoring, but by laying the ball wide for the incoming Bertrand Traoré, who tapped home from close range.

Delicious combination
After twenty minutes, Maccabi appeared in front of Remko Pasveer’s goal for the first time and it was an immediate hit. To the relief of all Ajax players, Daniele Rugani’s direct opponent was offside when the Italian turned a Maccabi cross into his own goal. Ajax then quickly recovered and made it 2-0 through a fantastic combination between Kian Fitz-Jim, Kenneth Taylor and Brobbey. The striker served Taylor with a backheel, after which the midfielder shot home from the edge of the penalty area. A yellow card for Taylor caused disappointment: he therefore misses the away match against Real Sociedad.

Before the break, Godts scored the third Amsterdam goal by coming in from the left and firing into the right corner. For the Belgian it was his fourth European goal for Ajax. To Brobbey’s annoyance, he did not get on the scoreboard before halftime. After a header, he also met Mishpati on the rebound, although the Dutch international already seemed to be offside for that situation.

Burst of joy
After an hour the moment came that Brobbey and almost the entire Johan Cruijff Arena were hoping for. Goalkeeper Mishpati unfortunately hit the ball twice on a goal kick, after which Ajax was awarded an indirect free kick in the penalty area. Brobbey stood behind the ball and hit the ball very hard. What followed was an intense outburst of joy from the striker, who was jumped on by his teammates. The last time Brobbey scored for Ajax was seventy days ago.

After Brobbey’s goal, Farioli decided to bring in Steven Berghuis and Chuba Akpom and Berghuis immediately provided an assist: Fitz-Jim made it 5-0. Substitute Christian Rasmussen was also accurate, but the Dane was offside when he tapped in from close range after a cross from Brobbey that was extended by Van den Boomen.

After victories over Feyenoord and PSV, Ajax also recorded a third win in four Europa League matches. Farioli’s formation must leave only Lazio ahead of it in the Europa League rankings. In the Eredivisie, the Amsterdam team will visit FC Twente on Sunday, which drew against OGC Nice earlier in the evening.

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