Still can't fathom how good Dolberg has become in your save. Goals, goals, goals. Happy for him. And for Ajax, who've often had that knack for having a great striker to lead the line. Van Basten, Bergkamp, Ibrahimovic, Suárez, Huntelaar etc...
Mika Godts on the scoresheet too. I've read some rumours linking him to Man United, who are in search of a left winger. Well, him and a whole lot of other players... What is your take on him? Could he take that step, to United or some other club with a similar pull?
Make AFC AJAX Great Again
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JustinCase
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Danimal5981
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I'd say, the two top players at Ajax currently are Youri Baas and Mika Godts, but they're not at their peak yet, as they cannot carry the team on their shoulders yet. And a move to a team such as Man U would come too soon. The gap between the top players at Ajax and a decent squad player in the Premier League has increased lately, so if I were Mika Godts I'd look to Germany or Spain instead; agile dribblers like him will have more fun and development in such leagues, than the rather physical Premier League.JustinCase wrote: ↑30 Mar 2026, 16:50Still can't fathom how good Dolberg has become in your save. Goals, goals, goals. Happy for him. And for Ajax, who've often had that knack for having a great striker to lead the line. Van Basten, Bergkamp, Ibrahimovic, Suárez, Huntelaar etc...
Mika Godts on the scoresheet too. I've read some rumours linking him to Man United, who are in search of a left winger. Well, him and a whole lot of other players... What is your take on him? Could he take that step, to United or some other club with a similar pull?
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JustinCase
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Thanks mate!Danimal5981 wrote: ↑31 Mar 2026, 11:55I'd say, the two top players at Ajax currently are Youri Baas and Mika Godts, but they're not at their peak yet, as they cannot carry the team on their shoulders yet. And a move to a team such as Man U would come too soon. The gap between the top players at Ajax and a decent squad player in the Premier League has increased lately, so if I were Mika Godts I'd look to Germany or Spain instead; agile dribblers like him will have more fun and development in such leagues, than the rather physical Premier League.
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Danimal5981
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AJAX COMING SHORT IN PARIS
After nine national league games and another two European fixtures, Ajax suffered a first defeat by the hands of French giants Paris Saint-Germain. In Parc des Princes, Ajax wasn't blown away but it came short in almost every aspect of the game against PSG. The Amsterdam side suffered a goal against every half, for the team of Luis Enrique to take a 2-0 victory in the third round of the group stage in this 2026/2027 UEFA Champions League.
"The feeling afterwards is very much like after the previous game against Arsenal. It feels good to see we are on the rise, but it feels bad to not extract more out of this game. It will come out one day, but that was not this game: too bad", Ajax head-coach Daniel Marzec admitted. TV-pundit Rafael van der Vaart said Marzec was too hard on his team and himself: "You're facing a team with top players on each position, most of them were part of the team that won the 2025 Champions League. In such case, you need to look beyond the score board. There were spells they controlled possession and the pace of the game; that's a typical Ajax trait which is slowly returning. Of course, they created very little in terms of chances, but Ajax held their own in the home of a European giant!"
Paris Saint-Germain won thanks to goals of Vitinha and Ousmane Dembélé. Manager Luis Enrqiue was satisfied: "First of all because we defeated a very well playing opponent, but also we seem to be on top of things again." PSG had a lesser season last year: even though they managed to win the French League 1, they weren't successful in defending their Champions League trophy. After a difficult group stage, the Parisians were eliminated by Monaco in the preliminary round of 16. This season it has started the Champions League with three wins: starting with a home victory over Benfica (2-1), followed by an away win against Napoli (2-1), before drawing swords with Ajax this night.
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JustinCase
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With Arsenal and PSG among your opponents in the first three games, I think 4 points is more than acceptable. However, there seems to be a difference between "group stage PSG" and "knockout PSG", so if you were ever going to beat them, it should be now. Their 9 points in your UCL table suggest that this difference only exists in real life though...
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Danimal5981
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AJAX STOPPING AT SEVEN
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Danimal5981
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VERY SLOPPY AJAX GET IT TOGETHER JUST IN TIME
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kibaxx7
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Danimal5981
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Danimal5981
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Make AFC AJAX Great Again
AJAX TAKES CRUCIAL LAST SECOND WIN IN NAPLES
Naples, Italy | In a game that quite literally went down to the final second, Ajax have defeated SSC Napoli in their own home stadium named after club legend Diego Armando Maradona (1-2). Napoli drew first blood late in the first half with a goal by Romelu Lukaku. But the rebound by Ajax was swift and immediate, as we've seen a couple of times before during this season. In a more open second half, Ajax kept on being dangerous, but failed to pull the trigger. But something else we've seen across this season is that Ajax won't rest until the final whistle. In the dying seconds, substitute striker Marc Guiu saw his actual attempt being thwarted, but then the Spaniard threw himself, the opponent and the ball into the Napoli net. Ajax takes home three crucial points and moreover, a realistic chance to survive the group stages.
"I just felt something was possible today", Ajax-Head Coach Daniel Marzec explained. "For one, that feeling that we could've gotten more out of the games against Arsenal and PSG. Second, October has been a bit dodgy for us: two late escapes against Groningen and Excelsior, plus the defeat in Paris - so we were out to get a good, satisfying result. Thirdly, Ajax had a score to settle with Napoli because of the Champions League-games three years ago (Ajax lost 1-6 at home, 2-4 in Italy), so there was a sense of revenge in all layers of the club. And I knew the team would be hungry, because I told him Antonio Conte is a coach who puts more emphasis on the national league his teams play in, than on European tournaments; that's not provocation, that's an empirical fact stats can prove. So, if there was a moment to get that vital result in a European away game against an opponent from the Big 4 Leagues, it was today!"
Ajax and Napoli played reconnaissance in the opening 30 minutes, without many shots on target. It all moved into a higher gear when around the half hour mark, Anton Gaaei handed the ball to the opponent while on the halfway line. Ex-Ajax player Noa Lang had a brief spell to go at it alone. His attempt on the Ajax-goal was not very convincing, but it was te starting point of high entertainment football from both ends. Ajax immediately responded with an attempt by Kasper Dolberg, but from the side the Dane hit the wrong side of the net. The opening goal fell in the 42nd minute when Napoli finally found its striker, Romelu Lukaku. "I think it was his first and only touch on the ball in the first half", Daniel Marzec recalled, "but for a striker of his quality and experience, that's enough." The Belgian forward smartly twisted away from Takehiro Tomiyasu and gave the ball enough angle and speed, to let it roll passed Ajax-goalie Predrag Rajkovic and make it count for 1-0.
Ajax responded almost instantly with a lob from Oscar. The head of Dolberg touched the ball before Dutch Napoli-back Sam Beukema could and the direction it was given surprised Napoli-stalwart Jordan Pickford: 1-1. Marzec: "This is when I knew tthere was more to come from us. There was this sharpness, we also had at the start of the season. Whenever the opponent managed to score a goal, we responded instantly: a sign of the boys being in good form."
The second half flowed up and down the pitch, with Ajax being the bigger threat in front of the opponent's goal: Dolberg was clean through on goal but the attempt was stopped by Pickford, the same went for a smart free kick by sub Oleksandr Zinchenko. Via the rebound it found Mika Godts with an open and clear shot, but yet again Pickford saved his team. Ajax couldn't while Napoli wouldn't. All appeared the teams settled for a 1-1 draw.
But in the dying seconds, the clock must've been around exactly 90 minutes, a high cross by Ajax-right winger Maher Carrizo landed well for Marc Guiu to be volleyed powerfully towards the Napoli-goal. Pickford yet again stopped the ball but he couldn't grab and secure the object. The ball rolled slowly in front of an open goal, when Marc Guiu threw himself forward taking the ball and his opponent (who tried to stop him by pulling shirt) beyong the goal line. That was the decisive winner.
Ajax are now in a solid 15th place with 7 points out of 4 games. "We are only one point shy of the top 8, but we're three points and three goals clear from falling out of the best 24. Ajax has been in worse situations recently", Marzec said with a feeling of understatement. The Amsterdam side now visits Go Ahead Eagles before the final international break of 2026. In the Champions League, Ajax continues with a home game against Liverpool, while in December a visit to Slavia Prague awaits.
Naples, Italy | In a game that quite literally went down to the final second, Ajax have defeated SSC Napoli in their own home stadium named after club legend Diego Armando Maradona (1-2). Napoli drew first blood late in the first half with a goal by Romelu Lukaku. But the rebound by Ajax was swift and immediate, as we've seen a couple of times before during this season. In a more open second half, Ajax kept on being dangerous, but failed to pull the trigger. But something else we've seen across this season is that Ajax won't rest until the final whistle. In the dying seconds, substitute striker Marc Guiu saw his actual attempt being thwarted, but then the Spaniard threw himself, the opponent and the ball into the Napoli net. Ajax takes home three crucial points and moreover, a realistic chance to survive the group stages.
"I just felt something was possible today", Ajax-Head Coach Daniel Marzec explained. "For one, that feeling that we could've gotten more out of the games against Arsenal and PSG. Second, October has been a bit dodgy for us: two late escapes against Groningen and Excelsior, plus the defeat in Paris - so we were out to get a good, satisfying result. Thirdly, Ajax had a score to settle with Napoli because of the Champions League-games three years ago (Ajax lost 1-6 at home, 2-4 in Italy), so there was a sense of revenge in all layers of the club. And I knew the team would be hungry, because I told him Antonio Conte is a coach who puts more emphasis on the national league his teams play in, than on European tournaments; that's not provocation, that's an empirical fact stats can prove. So, if there was a moment to get that vital result in a European away game against an opponent from the Big 4 Leagues, it was today!"
Ajax and Napoli played reconnaissance in the opening 30 minutes, without many shots on target. It all moved into a higher gear when around the half hour mark, Anton Gaaei handed the ball to the opponent while on the halfway line. Ex-Ajax player Noa Lang had a brief spell to go at it alone. His attempt on the Ajax-goal was not very convincing, but it was te starting point of high entertainment football from both ends. Ajax immediately responded with an attempt by Kasper Dolberg, but from the side the Dane hit the wrong side of the net. The opening goal fell in the 42nd minute when Napoli finally found its striker, Romelu Lukaku. "I think it was his first and only touch on the ball in the first half", Daniel Marzec recalled, "but for a striker of his quality and experience, that's enough." The Belgian forward smartly twisted away from Takehiro Tomiyasu and gave the ball enough angle and speed, to let it roll passed Ajax-goalie Predrag Rajkovic and make it count for 1-0.
Ajax responded almost instantly with a lob from Oscar. The head of Dolberg touched the ball before Dutch Napoli-back Sam Beukema could and the direction it was given surprised Napoli-stalwart Jordan Pickford: 1-1. Marzec: "This is when I knew tthere was more to come from us. There was this sharpness, we also had at the start of the season. Whenever the opponent managed to score a goal, we responded instantly: a sign of the boys being in good form."
The second half flowed up and down the pitch, with Ajax being the bigger threat in front of the opponent's goal: Dolberg was clean through on goal but the attempt was stopped by Pickford, the same went for a smart free kick by sub Oleksandr Zinchenko. Via the rebound it found Mika Godts with an open and clear shot, but yet again Pickford saved his team. Ajax couldn't while Napoli wouldn't. All appeared the teams settled for a 1-1 draw.
But in the dying seconds, the clock must've been around exactly 90 minutes, a high cross by Ajax-right winger Maher Carrizo landed well for Marc Guiu to be volleyed powerfully towards the Napoli-goal. Pickford yet again stopped the ball but he couldn't grab and secure the object. The ball rolled slowly in front of an open goal, when Marc Guiu threw himself forward taking the ball and his opponent (who tried to stop him by pulling shirt) beyong the goal line. That was the decisive winner.
Ajax are now in a solid 15th place with 7 points out of 4 games. "We are only one point shy of the top 8, but we're three points and three goals clear from falling out of the best 24. Ajax has been in worse situations recently", Marzec said with a feeling of understatement. The Amsterdam side now visits Go Ahead Eagles before the final international break of 2026. In the Champions League, Ajax continues with a home game against Liverpool, while in December a visit to Slavia Prague awaits.