The reigning Eredivisie champions have done it again. Ajax were coming off an excellent 2018-19 season where they won the league title and reached the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, and they kicked off the 2019-20 in similar fashion lifting the Dutch Super Cup title. Erik Ten Hag’s men secured a comfortable 2-0 win thanks to goals from Kasper Dolberg and Daley Blind.
Ajax only needed one minute to establish differences
The Amsterdam-based side needed exactly 36 seconds to break the deadlock. A nifty passing combination found Donny van de Beek on the right side of the box, and the Dutch international crossed the ball towards the middle where Dolberg was all alone to place a shot past Jeroen Zoet. PSV had not even touched the ball, and Ajax were already on top in the score.
Ajax could have added a second goal before the 5th minute mark, but Dolberg sent his effort wide off the right post. Ajax looked threatening right from the start, and PSV didn’t have any way to turn things around. That tendency continued during most of the first half, where Ajax looked absolutely in control while PSV remained hopeless. Despite Bruma’s attempts to create any sort of attacking momentum, the Eindhoven side looked lost and the first half ended with a deserved 1-0 win for Ajax.
Ajax’s dominance continued after the half-time break
Mark van Bommel tried to spark things up in the second half and sent Erick Gutierrez and Donyell Malen to replace Jorrit Hendrix and Bruma, respectively. However, Ajax doubled their lead roughly 10 minutes after the break when Blind blasted a beautiful long-range shot from outside the box. The referee checked the sequence through the VAR system, but the goal was validated and as a result, the reigning Eredivisie champions jumped to a two-goal lead early in the second half.
Hirving Lozano was brought on for PSV, while Hakim Ziyech and Lasse Schone entered the pitch for Ajax before the 60th minute mark. The Mexican winger changed things for PSV and his sole presence converted the Eindhoven club in a more dangerous side, but that wasn’t enough to turn things around.
Lozano himself had a chance to score in the 65th minute, but his effort went slightly over the bar. Malen also sent a shot over the crossbar in the 72nd minute, perhaps showing PSV had enough left in the tank to attempt a late comeback. But that didn’t happen, as Ajax closed things out with ease on route to a comfortable 2-0 victory.
Final Thoughts
If this is going to be the difference between the Netherlands’ top two sides during the 2019-20 season, we might as well hand Ajax the Eredivisie title right away. Erik Ten Hag’s men looked absolutely dominant and could very well a tough side to beat in the Champions League once again, especially since they maintained most of the core that reached the Final Four last season.
Meanwhile, PSV have a lot of areas to improve. They could use a signing or two, and they must find a proven goalscorer. They simply can’t enter the 2019-20 season without having a reliable replacement for Luuk de Jong, who signed with Sevilla earlier this summer.
Match Report
Ajax: Onana (6); Veltman (5), Schuurs (6), Martinez (6) (Schöne (6), 59’), Dest (6); Marin (5), Blind (7) (Magallan (-), 83’); Tadic (5), van de Beek (7), Promes (6) (Ziyech (5), 59’); Dolberg (6)
PSV: Zoet (5); Dumfries (5), Luckassen (5), Boscagli (6), Sadilek (6); Rosario (5), Hendrix (4) (Gutierrez (5), 46’); Bruma (6) (Malen (6), 46’), Bergwijn (5) (Lozano (6), 59’), Gakpo (5); Lammers (6)
Goals: Dolberg (1-0, 1’), Blind (2-0, 53’)
Referee: Dennis Higler (NED)
Yellow Cards: Veltman, Dest (AJA); Hendrix, Gakpo, Luckassen (PSV)
Red Cards: None
Attendance: 51,837
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