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Ajax started the game extremely weak but managed to turn around a quick 2-0 deficit thanks to Noa Lang, who scored a hat-trick on his starting-debut. Two more goals by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar brought the final score to 2-5.
It almost seemed like Ajax were still dreaming about the Champions League when referee van Boekel whistled for the first time in Enschede today. The players, and especially Mazraoui, were not focussed at all and FC Twente punished it mercilessly. In the 15th minute, Twente launched a rapid counter after one of the many misplaced passes by Ziyech (21 times ball loss in the first half) was intercepted. Aitor launched Nakamura with a through ball and the Japanese loanee fired at goal from the edge of the penalty area, surprising Onana: 1-0.
One would think that conceding a goal is quite the wake-up call but that didn’t seem to be the case at all for the Ajax players. Only four minutes later the Twentenaren pounced on another misplaced pass, this time by Mazraoui. He headed the ball to Selahi who played in Aitor perfectly through the Ajax defence and within 20 minutes FC Twente doubled the margin to two.
The problems only became bigger when all of a sudden Quincy Promes sat down on the pitch. The in-form winger wasn’t able to continue and Huntelaar was brought in to replace him. The severeness of his injury is uncertain at this point.
Where Ajax were still very restless and sloppy but they finally got some chances. With just over half an hour played Ajax scored the 2-1. Hakim Ziyech managed to pass the ball to Noa Lang from the Twente back-line. The 20-year-old, who enjoyed his first starting spot, didn’t hesitate and brought Ajax back into the game.
Second half wake-up call
In the second half, the first good chance was, once again, for the home team. Huntelaar headed a ball to Nakamura who lifted the ball over the Ajax defence to Aitor but he didn’t have his sights calibrated correctly and shot wide. This chance seemed to finally wake up the Ajax squad. And they started pressing FC Twente relentlessly.
Ajax started pressing more and more and with success. Donny van de Beek’s cross in the 52nd minute missed everyone in front of the goal but Noa Lang at the far post. Once again he didn’t have to think about this opportunity for a second and slotted the ball home to even the score.
Only ten minutes later Ajax were already in the lead. Good disruptive work by Ziyech gained Ajax possession deep in the half of Twente. A pass to Tadic in the penalty area was intercepted but the rebound landed perfectly for Klaas-Jan Huntelaar who almost shot through the net.
Hat-trick for Lang
FC Twente had completely lost the plot at this point and couldn’t connect any passes anymore. The 2-4 was a perfect illustration for the way Twente played at this point. Twente goalie has to head away a back-pass but does that against the back of a teammate. The ball falls in front of Lang who’s in front of an empty goal and scores his third of the day!
In the added time, FC Twente regained some of their composure and had a few chances to try and make the match exciting again. Eventually, it was Ajax who scored another goal, however. A completely failed one-two by Twente meant that Ziyech could put Huntelaar one on one versus the Twente goalie. The seasoned striker didn’t fail and scored his second of the match.
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