Ajax are now sitting in 17th spot in the Eredivisie table after a 4-3 loss against Utrecht.
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Both teams went into the game in a crisis as Utrecht were bottom of the table, while Ajax sat only two places above them.
The first chance of the game fell to Ajax but Steven Bergwijn couldn’t convert a pullback from Carlos Forbs. The visitors had the possession but clear-cut chances were far and few between.
Just before the break, Utrecht took the lead with Ajax failing to clear the ball and Ryan Flamingo lashed it past Jay Gorter. Shortly after the break, it got worse for Ajax as Mike van der Hoorn doubled the lead for the hosts.
Ajax showed some resistance and fight as Kristian Hlynsson scored a quick-fire double to make it 2-2. Both goals were assisted by Borna Sosa and the momentum then seemed all with Ajax.
In the 65th minute, Brian Brobbey was fouled in the box and Steven Bergwijn put Ajax in front from the penalty spot.
Utrecht was not to back down though and Jens Toornstra made it 3-3 after some poor defending from Ajax. Maurice Steijn then had to take off the injured Gorter and Diant Ramaj made his debut.
The match was paused after a cup was thrown and when it resumed, Utrecht made it 4-3 thanks to a nice finish from Oscar Fraulo, who chipped the ball over Ramaj.
Ajax then made a triple change and the game was paused again. However, Utrecht eventually saw out the remaining minutes to claim the victory.
Ajax drops to 17th spot in the table and the pressure once again increases on Steijn, while Utrecht is up to 16th.
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Oof. I do feel bad for Maurice Steijn. He looks like he’s about to have a nervous breakdown on the sidelines, he’s in a bad situation. After watching every game of Ajax’s so far this season, the overall talent on that team is of a mid-level club, with a couple of talented players in the mix. At this point I do think they have to make a change. The structure needs to be addressed immediately. Whether that’s van Gaal or someone else, it’s time.
Reality is unless Ajax are going to invest heavily in January or next summer this will be a couple of lost seasons digging out of the whole they made for themselves.