Ajax have failed to reach the group stage of the Champions League after a humiliating 4-1 defeat to Rostov in Russia. The Amsterdammers lose 5-2 on aggregate.
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Ajax went into the second leg knowing they had to put in a performance after the 1-1 draw in Amsterdam last week, but Rostov were the better side from the start and they had already missed two clear chances before Azmoun headed them in front on 34 minutes. At the other end Ajax looked clueless and couldn’t muster a single shot on target as Rostov’s defence easily dealt with the threat of Amin Younes, Bertrand Traore and especially Anwar El Ghazi, who was hooked at half-time after a shocking first half.
If the first half was bad for Ajax, the second half was a travesty as Rostov put the game to bed within 20 minutes of the restart. Erokhin headed in a free kick on 52 minutes, before Christian Noboa and Poloz completed the humiliation with two quick fire goals as the Ajax defence fell apart.
Ajax would pull one back from the penalty spot as Davy Klaassen netted after Fedor Kudryashov saw red for flooring Kasper Dolberg, but it proved to be nothing but a consolation and Rostov comfortably held on to book their place in the group stage for the first time. Ajax will now have to settle for Europa League football once again as Netherlands coefficient and reputation takes another bashing.
Ajax fans will now be seeking answers from Marc Overmars, who still refuses to spend money on players that the club clearly needs, while Peter Bos is already under pressure after another disappointing result. The club now need to pick themselves up for this weekend’s trip to Go Ahead Eagles, a game which if lost could see them move eight points adrift in the title race after only four games.
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Awful display. Not the Ajax I fell in love with. Farce. Humiliated. Not even close. Bosz, maybe, is not the man we need.
we are still a long way behind from being back among europe best