Amsterdam, 25 November 2026 | Ajax have taken down a giant! In a game where opponents Liverpool weren't short of effort but neither of sloppiness, it managed only two shots on target. Ajax on the other hand struck immediately the first time they entered the opponent's penalty box and played the patience game from that moment on until the final whistle. The home team won 2-1.
"The boys did exactly what we practised", Daniel Marzec said exuberantly. Before the match, the Ajax-head coach made a decision that raised eyebrows: he wouldn't play his top goal scorer Kasper Dolberg, instead he opted for Leverkusen-loanee Marc Guiu. "That was part of the tactical plan, honestly", the coach explained.
"Liverpool are a very hard opponent, but they have one weakness: their centre of defence is strong but slow. So, the plan was to enter the game more cautious than we normally would; draw them out a bit, let them come. And then, we would hit them on the counter with our wingers squeezing to the inside, so to outrun their centre backs Ibrahima Konaté and Virgil van Dijk. So, we needed a bit more accurate football from the back and a bit more physique up front, which is why I chose for Sean Steur and Marc Guiu, instead of recent regulars Jorthy Mokio and Kasper Dolberg. All in all, we've won this game on tactical brilliance. A plan is only a plan, until the boys carry it out well: then it becomes a successful plan!"
Liverpool were allowed to make the game, but it was Ajax that struck twice from their first two attempts, courtesy of left winger now shadow-striker Mika Godts. The first goal in the 6th minute was a good launch by Marc Guiu who, back towards the Liverpool goal, lured the two centre backs. Instinctively the ball was forwarded into the gap on the left where Mika Godts was on the inside of Jeremy Frimpong. A well targeted strike from 15 metres (16 yards) defeated Liverpool-goalie Alisson.
The upbeat towards the second Ajax-goal saw Ajax possess the ball for a little longer. Playing the ball left-to-right and back to the left again more than once, it was left back Mats Rots who inverted into the position of supporting midfielder, that spotted the gap. Once again, Mika Godts outsmarted Frimpong and netted his and Ajax second of the night.
The second half saw Ajax follow the same method, but the hard-pressed Liverpudians now added a bit more spirit to their efforts. Almost 15 minutes in, Liverpool pulled back one goal. The offside trap of Ajax closed too late, which gave Milos Kerkez a free run on goal: 2-1. But it was symbolic that Liverpool's attackers couldn't pose a real threat in front of the goal of Predrag Rajkovic: neither Florian Wirtz, Mohamed Salah, striker Hugo Ekitiké, or substitute Alexander Isak couldn't produce a single shot on target. In fact, Liverpool only managed two throughout the entire game - the goal by Kerkez and an accurate but not very dangerous attempt by Ryan Gravenberch.
Ajax sensed it had the game under control and as an ultimate act of confidence, Marzec took off the rather anonymous attacking midfielder Oscar Gloukh and replaced him with 17 year old (!!!) Abdellah Ouazane. By doing so, the youngster now has already two appearances this season in the Champions League; Ouazane was given some minutes when Ajax were already 2-0 down in the away game against Paris Saint-Germain. Arne Slot could nothing else but to applaud and congratulate Marzec and his men: "They've exploited our weak points, while we couldn't get beyond theirs. On paper we may have more quality, but when their plan works better than ours the conslusion is that are the deserved winners tonight."
The consequences of this result are significant: Ajax has put itself in contention for a direct spot among the eight best that'll advance to the Round of 16: nine teams with 10 points each are playing for five of those spots: Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, PSV Eindhoven, Borussia Dortmund, FC Barcelona, AC Milan, Leverkusen and Besiktas all share the same amount of points as Ajax. At the other end of the table, various English teams appear to be in serious trouble: Liverpool, Newcastle and Arsenal all have a meager 5 points each, with only Liverpool among the best 24 based on goal difference. That puts the teams still above the likes of Benfica, Atlético or Napoli, but prospects aren't looking well for the Premier League sides.
Meanwhile, the Amsterdam side will visit the Czech capital of Prague in two weeks. Marzec is warning not to underestimate Slavia, who've only scored two points thusfar: "We shouldn't think lightly that this will be a game where we COULD work on our goal difference; instead it'll be a game where once again we MUST get another three points to put ourselves in a good position for the final games in early 2027."
