Goals and Highlights Ajax vs NEC Nijmegen (5-0)

With five goals in the first half, Ajax dominated NEC Nijmegen and got back on the winning track. Tadic scored twice and even assisted Mazraoiu, Haller opened the scoring and Bart van Rooij scored against. In the second half the team of Amsterdam managed the advantage and the rival could not even reduce the difference.

Ball possession - Ajax 73%, NEC Nijmegen 27
Shots: 25-7
Shots on goal: 9-1
Fouls: 6-6
Corners kicks: 10-0
Goalkeeper saves: 1-5
Tackles: 25-19
Interception: 19-17
Total Passes: 768-290
Passes completed: 683-212

47' Referee Bas Nijhuis blows the whistle and signals the end of the game!

47' Bronkhorst serves Duelund, who fills his right foot but Stekelenburg saves in the middle of the goal

45' Two minutes to end the second half

44' Berghuis crosses into the middle of the box, Devyne Rensch heads it far above the goal. Lack of accuracy.

37' Zakaria Labyad takes a long shot but the ball hits the defense on the way

34' Javier Vet and Ilias Bronkhorst  replaces Lasse Schöne and Jonathan Okita.

33' Ryan Gravenberch unleashes his right foot, but sends the ball right and over the goal to the right.

31' Victor Jensen and Zakaria Labyad in, Edson Álvarez and Davy Klaassen out

29' David Neres plays to Rensch, who hits the ball from outside the area but it explodes in the defender 

21' Ali Akman replaced by Jordy Bruijn

20' Blind plays to Gravenberch, who invades the area on the left side and hits the corner of the goalkeeper, who makes the save.

Fouls: 5-3.
Ball possession: Ajax: 71%, NEC Nijmegen: 29%

13' David Neres and Devyne Rensch replaces Dusan Tadic Lisandro Martínez. With the replacement of the serbian, defender Blind is the new Ajax captain

10' Duelund toca para Bruijn na entrada da área, ele bate de pé direito, mas bola sai à esquerda de Stekelenburg

3' Okita comes forward from the right and shoots with his right foot, but the ball goes to the left of Stekelenburg's goal

00' The second half begins

Ball possession - Ajax: 74%, NEC Nijmegen: 26%
Shots: 19-4
Shots on goal: 9-0
Fouls: 2-3
Corner kicks: 7-0
Goalkeeper saves: 0-4
Tackles: 15-7
Interception: 9-7
Passes: 363-123
Passes completed: 323-83

46' End of the first half in Amsterdam

39' TADIC! The serbian scored his second of the match when he received a ball from Berghius and finished with a left-footed shot to the goalkeeper's right corner.

Goals: 2*#ajanec https://t.co/M6s3tw728e

— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) August 14, 2021

33' Okita and Lasse Schöne take chances from outside the box, but both shots are blocked by the defense.

26' Another cross from Mazraoui to Haller, who heads the ball high

25' Edgar Barreto in place of Magnus Mattsson.

24' Duelund deflects a cross from Schöne in the middle of the box, but the ball goes over the goal

20' TADIC! Álvarez shoots dangerously, the goalkeeper sends the ball to a corner and, after the shot is taken, the ball arrives at the Serbian's left foot, which hits the left corner and scores the fourth goal of the home team.

18' Okita, from NEC, tries a shot from outside the box but the ball goes too high

16' Haller receives from Tadic, advances again to the attack field, shoots with his right foot but the ball goes to the left of the goal

14' BART VAN ROOIJ! Own goal! After another cross from the right side, the defender heads the ball into his own goal, with no chance for the goalkeeper

13' Heller receives from Tadic and shoots at the goal, but hits it straight out

10' MAZRAOUI. After another ball lifted in the NEC area, this time by Tadic, the Moroccan header deflects and increases the score

6' HALLER! Mazraoui crosses into the box and the #22 uses his right foot to beat Branderhorst's corner

3' After a free-kick from the right, the ball goes to Tadic, who hits a left-footed shot and Brandenhorst saves

2' Klaasen feeds Haller on the left, he shoots left-footed and the goalkeeper saves

00' The first half begins at the Johan Cruijff Arena

NEC Nijmegen's Danish international is cheered by Ajax fans on his return to Amsterdam

Say hi to Lasse 👏👏👏👏👏👏#ajanec pic.twitter.com/fDNeVTObXY

— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) August 14, 2021

Olympic champion last week at the Tokyo 2020 Games, brazilian striker Antony is not listed for the game, but received a gift from idols Marc Overmars and Edwin van der Sar before the ball starts rolling at the Johan Cruijff Arena.

Branderhorst; Van Rooij, Marquez, Odenthal, El Karouani, Schöne, Duelund, Proper; Okita, Bruijn, Mattsson.
Coach: Rogier Meijer. 
 

Substitutes: Vukovic, Roefs, Bronkhorst, Rodrigo Guth, Tavsan, Barreto, Akman, Vet, Romeny, Van der Sluijs, Beekman, Bukusu. 

Stekelenburg; Mazraoui, Timber, Martinez, Blind; Alvarez, Klaassen, Gravenberch; Berghuis, Haller, Tadic.
Coach: Erik Ten Hag. 
Substitutes: Gorter, Pasveer, David Neres, Rensch, Ekkelenkamp, Labyad, Jensen, Magallán, Baas, Martha.

Heu! We're back with all the latest news, behind-the-scenes information, lineups, and more about the match between Ajax and NEC Nijmegen, which marks the teams' opening game in the Eredivisie.
 

Match: Ajax vs NEC Nijmegen
League: 2021-22 Eredivisie
Date: August 14th
Time: 3:00pm ET
Place: Amsterdam (Netherlands)
Stadium: Johan Cruijff Arena
Where to watch: no TV
Real time: VAVEL

Valid for the opening round of the 2021-22 Eredivisie, the match between Ajax and NEC Nijmegen starts at 3:00 pm ET this Saturday 14th at Johan Cruijff Arena, but will not be broadcast on TV. However, you can follow all the details here on VAVEL in real time.

Bas Nijhuis (refereee), Mario Diks (first assistant), Erik Kleinjan (second assistant) and Robin Hensgens (fourth official). VAR: Laurens Gerrets and Kevin Bodde (AVAR).

Branderhorst; Márquez, Odenthal, El Karouani, Van Rooij; Proper, Schöne, Duelund, Bruijn, Mattsson; Okita.
Coach: Rogier Meijer.

Stekelenburg; Martinez, Alvarez, Mazroui, Blind; Klaasen, Gravenberch, David Neres; Tadic, Haller, Berghuis.
Coach: Erik ten Hag.

"We play a lot of matches, so we need everyone. Berghuis can play together with Antony, but he needs some time now and little by little they will fit together."

"Ajax is the best team in Holland and one of the best in Europe. This game will be good for us to assess the level we are at. We are certainly ready, I think we have done everything we can. I want to see a team that has courage, that dares to play soccer and knows how to be compact in defense."

One of NEC's key reinforcements for the season is the 35-year-old Danish midfielder, who was formerly with Heerenveen. He is the foreigner who has made the most appearances for Ajax (287 games) and wore the club's shirt between 2012 and 2019, being three-time Eredivisie champion in 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2018/19. Before the ball starts rolling he will receive a tribute at the Johan Cruijff Arena.

The NEC has signed eight players, among them Brazilian defender Rodrigo Guth, ex-Atalanta. From Parana, he has a passage through the Brazilian under-17 national team and left Coritiba's base in 2017 straight to the Italian club and debuted as a professional only in Europe. On the Ajax side the expectation is for the presence of striker David Neres, since the Olympic champion Antony has already returned to training, but has not yet been listed because he missed part of the preseason while in Tokyo.

NEC Nijmegen had been out of the Eredivisie since the 2016/2017 season. History records 40 matches against Ajax, who won 34 and drew six. As such, the club is looking for an unprecedented victory at the Johan Cruijff Arena.

The century-old club from the eastern Dutch city of Nijmegen has dutch coach Rogier Meijer as its manager. The match against Ajax is the team's first game of the 2021-22 season. In July the club played two friendly matches - they lost 4-1 to AZ Alkmaar and beat Heracles 1-0.

In the opening round, Heerenveen's Croatian Tibor Halilović scored the first goal of the Dutch league season in a 1-0 win over the Go Ahead Eagles.

Go Ahead Eagles 0-1 Herenveen
RKC Waalwijk x AZ Alkmaar 
Heracles x PSV
Fortuna Sittard x Twente
Ajax x NEC Nijmegen
Cambuur x Groningen
PEC Zwolle x Vitesse
Utrecht x Sparta Rotterdam
Willen II x Feyenoord

The biggest winner in the history of the Dutch league, with 35 titles, Ajax will play their second game of the season after losing the Johan Cruyff Shield to PSV 4-0 last weekend.

Hi everyone! My name is Bia Palumbo and I’ll be your host for this game. We will follow the debut of defending champions Ajax in the 2021-22 season of the Eredivisie, which faces newly promoted NEC Nijmegen this Saturday 14th at 3 pm (EST). We will provide you with pre-game analysis, score updates, and news as it happens live here on VAVEL.