Player Ratings | Ajax 4-0 Sparta Rotterdam – Berghuis raises the roof | OneFootball

Oscar Garcia kicked off his time at the helm of Ajax in style thanks to goals from Steven Berghuis, Davy Klaassen, and Mika Godts. The win moved the hosts within two points of Feyenoord in second.

Story of the match

Oscar Garcia’s first game in charge of Ajax threatened to be overshadowed by an eerie atmosphere at the Johan Cruyff Arena tonight as the hosts welcomed Sparta Rotterdam in the Eredivisie.

Both sides arrived out of form.

Sparta were winless in five, and Ajax had won just once in their previous seven games.

The sides were desperate to mount a late charge for the Champions League places, but the home advantage was negligible as the stadium was largely silent.

Ajax Ultras, the F-side, were banned and their end of the Arena was left empty following the fireworks display that suspended the Eredivisie game against Groningen in November.

Cheered on by a buoyant away following, Sparta were first out of the blocks and should have taken the lead in the 12th minute when a delightful cross was met by Norwegian forward, Tobias Lauritsen, but his header fell narrowly wide of the right post.

Ajax slowly found their rhythm and nearly took the lead in the 17th minute as former Watford and Feyenoord midfielder, Steven Berguis fired wide from 18 yards.

Ajax did take the lead two minutes later as a Berghuis free-kick was deflected past Joel Drommel by the lazy left foot of Joshua Kitolano.

It was cruel on Sparta, but suddenly Ajax had the momentum.

Berghuis should have extended the lead in the 28th minute, but sent his effort high and wide from the edge of the box.

Berghuis did extend the lead four minutes later.

Sean Steur showed composure to pick out an unmarked Berghuis, six yards out, and the Dutchman couldn’t miss as he drilled his second touch into the roof of the net.

Lauritsen had half a chance to halve the deficit in the 37th minute, but Maarten Paes was equal to the header with a fine athletic save high to his left.

It was a brief respite for the Sparta defence, and the Ajax onslaught continued in the second half.

A mix-up between Kitolano and Pelle Clement gifted Godts with a one-on-one opportunity, but Drommel was quick off his line to block the chance.

Ajax should have had their third in the 50th minute, as Berghuis sprung the offside trap and passed across the six-yard box for an open goal to Don-Angelo Konadu. But in a moment that will give him nightmares for days and weeks to come, Konadu mis-timed the tap-in and put it wide from three yards.

The silence was deafening. The disbelief palpable.

Nothing could stop wave after wave of Ajax attacks.

There were further chances for Godts and Mokio before the hour mark, but Drommel kept his side in the game with some smart reflex saves.

Ajax eventually had their third in the 73rd minute.

Godts turned provider as he sliced through the Sparta defence with a lovely through-ball for Klaassen, who made no mistake from 16 yards.

It opened the floodgates for Ajax.

Three minutes later, Godts had the goal his performance deserved as he turned Sambo inside and out, before finishing smartly over an onrushing Drommel.

There were further chances for Ajax, but the game was effectively over and Sparta were spared when the final whistle eventually came.

The defeat left Sparta hanging on to eighth in the Eredivisie, whilst Ajax moved nine points clear of their opponents in fourth and back in the battle for the second and final Champions League spot.

Ajax:

Ajax lineup (4-3-3):

Paes (6) Faultless but largely untested. A rare evening off for the former Dallas and Utrecht goalkeeper who can celebrate only his second clean sheet for Ajax.

Rosa (7)

Regeer (6) 

Godts (8) The Belgian forward seemed to have the freedom of Sparta’s right side as his incisive and direct runs proved too much for the Sparta defence. When Godts plays well, so do Ajax, and it was another wonderful attacking performance. The only thing missing was a goal.

Baas (6) 

Klaassen (8) The beating heart of this Ajax team was a steady and even presence tonight. It was vintage Klaasen as the experienced midfielder orchestrated his peers with a flawless display of precision passing and visionary through-balls. Appropriately, it was a through-ball by Godts that Klaassen confidently scored from. 

Konadu (6) Whilst his peers covered themselves in glory around him, Konadu had a game to forget. He will be hoping to forget his open goal miss as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, it may be one of the most memorable moments of this one-sided game, where he was largely a spectator.

Berghuis (9) The 34-year-old showed what Ajax have been missing during his long injury lay-off, and he was back with a bang. Six key passes, a goal, and an assist were a tip of the iceberg in an exceptional performance.

Tomiyasu (6) The former Arsenal left-back won’t have much easier games than tonight.

Sutalo (6) 

Steur (8) Calm, composed, creative. Steur won’t make the headlines, but that won’t matter. The 18-year-old showed wisdom beyond his years with a mature performance. His assist for the first Berghuis goal was selfless, and Garcia made a point to celebrate Steur’s performance after the game.

Substitutes:

Heerkens

Reverson

Gaaei (6)

Wijndal

Carrizo

Dolberg (6)

Gloukh

Mokio (8) Brought on for the injured Youri Regeer after 24 minutes, Mokio was electric. As we are coming to expect, the 18-year-old only knows how to play football one way: fast. The Sparta defence tried their best to contain his most creative instincts with some forceful tackles, but the forward seemed to enjoy the physicality and relished the tight central spaces, drawing free-kicks around the edge of the box and making spaces for his teammates.

Fitz-Jim (6)

Bouwman

Bounida (6)

Van Der Lans

Sparta Rotterdam:

Sparta Rotterdam lineup (4-2-3-1)

Drommel (7) The stopper was Sparta’s highlight this evening as he kept the score respectable. There were numerous stand-out saves, but his positioning and speed to prevent Godts twice in the second half were exceptional. Drommel can be proud of his performance, if not for those in front of him.

Martes (5)

Young (5)

Martins Indi (5) The experienced defender looked surprisingly at sea tonight as he was consistently caught out of position. On the surface, Godt’s mazy run looked like a moment of magic, but the former Stoke City and Porto defender had left Godts one-on-one, whilst Martins Indi marked open space in the middle of the Ajax half.

Quintero (5)

Clement (6) Truthfully, I forgot he was on the pitch until his substitution in the 69th minute. But he ran off the pitch majestically.

van Bergen (6)

Kitolano (4) The Norwegian struggled tonight, and his performance was best epitomised by hanging his left foot out to a Berghuis free-kick that was going nowhere. His performance deteriorated in the second half, and he nearly gifted Ajax a third with some lackadaisical ball control that Godts should have punished. He was consistently off the pace tonight.

Lauritsen (6) It may be harsh to say moments change games, but had the Norwegian forward taken his chances in the first half, this game could have turned out very differently. He didn’t, and it didn’t. But it could have been so different.

van Croolj (6)

Mito (5) The Japanese international had a torrid evening in attack and defence as he hung out his left-back to dry. When he was

Substitutions:

Bednarek

Kuiper

Sambo (5) Isolated from his teammates, Sambo was left to fend for himself in the second half and did little to stop the Ajax onslaught as the opposition ran rings around him in the centre of defence. He needed help, it wasn’t forthcoming.

de Guzmán

van Aanholt

Kleijn

Baas

Terho (6)

Roaldsoy (6)

Zonneveld

Toornstra

Santos (6)

Player of the Match: Steven Berghuis

Berghuis has been plagued by injuries in recent years and has experienced another torrid season so far, having only started one game since September.

With persistent groin and knee injuries, Berghuis has been kept largely to cameo appearances, but tonight he took centre-stage.

Everything creative and threatening in the first half came through the former Watford midfielder, demonstrating how much this young Ajax side have lacked experience.

In the first half, Berghuis had six shots, including an assist and a delightfully taken goal.

On another day, he would have celebrated a hat-trick in the opening 30 minutes.GBeNeFN | Oscar O’Mara