Today, the Champions of the Netherlands hosted a visit from relegation candidates Heracles Almelo, who are yet to pick up a point this season. The visiting side were the huge underdogs going into the game, and struggled to keep pace with the attacking style that Ajax played with today. The home side dropped out-of-form front man Sigthorsson to compensate for Leverkusen loanee Arkadiusz Milik. Heracles utilised Weghorst and his aerial ability as a lone striker.

The first half began very brightly for Ajax, as Milik opened the scoring in the first minute of the game. He picked up a lovely through ball by Schone, muscled off his opposing defender and slotted the ball to the far post with a tidy finish. Ajax seemed to opt for the long ball tactic, using cross-field diagonal link-ups between Moisander and Anwar El-Ghazi. In the 11th minute, Klaassen threaded Milik through with a neat pass, and the Polish striker was very close to converting from a tight angle. From around the 13 minute mark, Ajax began to sit back and accept some Heracles pressure, resulting in Veltman having to be on his toes to prevent a powerful cross finding the feet of Weghorst. In the 17th minute, Ajax utilised this extra pressure to launch a fast paced counter attack which ended in a tame left foot volley by El Ghazi. Schone then went on to hit the far post with a neatly struck volley at a tight angle in the 19th minute, and he was unlucky not to put his name on the score sheet. In the same minute, van Rhijn swung a hefty cross along the Heracles 6-yard-box, which El Ghazi nearly got his outstretched toe to. 8 minutes later, Klaassen’s wonderful first touch and pace put himself one on one with Telgenkamp, and his spontaneous, cheeky finish was well saved by the Heracles goalkeeper.

Heracles’ only real effort on goal in the first half came through Oussama Tannane, as he wriggled through the Ajax midfield, showing great skill, but fired his shot straight into the grasp of Jasper Cillessen. Joel Veltman was relieved not to see his side concede in the 40th minute after his slip was capitalised on by Weghorst, putting him through on goal. After this short spell of Heracles pressure, Ajax then pushed forward again on the counter, as van Rhijn set up El Ghazi, whose costless header flew over the bar. Just on the stroke of half time, El Ghazi used nimble footwork to beat his man and then laid the ball onto Milik; El Ghazi’s dart into the box pulled open a gap in the Heracles defence, allowing Milik to find the bottom corner of the net from just outside the box. Both of Milik’s goals were impressive, as he showed composure and technique in rushed situations.

Going into the second half, Ajax were completely dominant. Schone hit the post again in the 51st minute, this time at the edge of the box, after a superb, driving run. Only a minute later, Bruns found himself with a costless effort at Cillessen’s goal, but his soft effort was well saved by the Dutch No.1. This was the first glimmer of shakiness from the Ajax defence, which continued throughout the second half. The next chance of the game fell to El Ghazi in the 64th minute. The ball bounced around the Heracles 6-yard-box and El Ghazi’s poke at goal was well saved by Telgenkamp. It was in the 78th minute that Serero found himself one-on-one with the Heracles goalkeeper, but he never looked confident in front of goal and his attempted pass to Milik was disastrous. It seemed as if Heracles were imminently heading for their 5th consecutive defeat, however, Weghorst’s goal in the 85th minute breathed life into the struggling side. A wonderful cross found the head of the Dutch giant, and his header to the far post was unstoppable and precise. The second half as a whole was shaky for Ajax, and the last 5 minutes of the game seemed to last an age for the home supporters. In the 88th minute, the ball fell kindly to Bel Hassani, but his effort was collected effortlessly by Cillessen. The final chance of the game came to Veldmate in stoppage time, but his shot rocketed over the bar.

Ajax will be happy with 3 points after two previous consecutive defeats, but there is still a lot to improve on for the Champions. They are paid a visit by French Champions PSG midweek in the Champions League, and their defence will have to tighten up massively to keep out the likes of Edinson Cavani and ex-Ajax striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Heracles still sit pointless at the bottom of the table, but they can take more positives than negatives out of a very impressive second half performance.