Ajax waltzes over Rangers and has an excellent start to the Champions League

Ajax made an excellent start to the group stage of the Champions League on Wednesday. The team from Amsterdam waltzed over Rangers FC in-house and were 4-0 too strong for the team of trainer Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

Edson Álvarez already broke the spell for Ajax in the seventeenth minute with a header from a corner. Then Steven Berghuis (shot changed direction) and occasional striker Mohammed Kudus (shot) topped off the home team’s gala performance within 33 minutes. Never before had Ajax taken a 3-0 lead in the Champions League so quickly.

Rangers FC also had little to say after the break, although Ajax visibly slowed down a bit. After a rejected goal by Rangers due to offside, Steven Bergwijn determined the final score at 4-0 in the eightieth minute, equaling Ajax’s record victory in the Champions League. Four times before, Ajax won 4-0 in the million-dollar ball.

Ajax thus has the much desired start of the Champions League. In a group with Liverpool and Napoli, Rangers FC is considered the weak brother, so that Ajax had to win at home with a view to wintering in the million-dollar ball. Later on Wednesday evening, Napoli surprisingly won 4-1 against Liverpool and is second behind Ajax on goal difference.

For Rangers coach Van Bronckhorst it was an evening to forget quickly. The former coach of Feyenoord was last season with Rangers in the final of the Europa League. He led the club to the Champions League two weeks ago at the expense of PSV for the first time in twelve years, but now the Scots are in heavy weather. On Saturday, the Old Firm also lost 4-0 against Celtic.

Ajax will continue the Champions League next Tuesday with an away match against six-time winner Liverpool. First, the team of coach Alfred Schreuder plays in the Eredivisie against sc Heerenveen. The home game with the Frisians is next Saturday.

Ajax plays with Rangers in the first half

After almost half a year of absence, the Champions League anthem was heard again in the Johan Cruijff ArenA. This led to great enthusiasm among the 54,000 fans present, who traditionally swayed along with their flags to André Rieu’s violin sounds. The yearning for new European success was palpable in the stadium.

Trainer Schreuder surprised with his line-up by passing Brian Brobbey and using Kudus as an occasional striker. Nevertheless, the choice of the coach turned out to be excellent. After some tentative opening minutes, Rangers was an extra in an Ajax rondo. And when the Scots had the ball, they were immediately grabbed by the throat by the hunting Ajax players.

Ajax played excellent combination football, but the opening goal came from a corner. Álvarez was released completely by Rangers and headed Berghuis’s spinning ball into the far corner. The 1-0 turned out to be the start of a real shower of opportunities, from which Dusan Tadic and Devyne Rensch in particular were unable to score.

After more than half an hour of play, the 2-0 still fell, although Ajax received some help from Rangers. Berghuis produced a powerless shot, but his effort was reversed by Rangers defender James Sands, leaving Scottish goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin no chance.

This did not satisfy Ajax’s hunger, because in the 33rd minute Kudus lifted the margin to three in a brilliant way. The Ghanaian rammed the ball from the left through the inside of the post in the far corner and rewarded Schreuder’s choice. Ajax had never taken a 3-0 lead so quickly in the Champions League. “They get football lessons!”, sang the fanatical Ajax fans and there was no lying about that.

Bergwijn determines the final score at 4-0

Even after the break, Ajax was by far the dominant party, but it was clear that the team from Amsterdam was slowing down a bit in view of the tough program of the coming months. Ajax did not create many chances and Rangers was even dangerous a few times. Dissatisfied with the poor game, Rangers coach Van Bronckhorst had made three substitutions at halftime.

After more than an hour of play, Kudus undertook a solo that was reminiscent of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s dribble while playing for Ajax in the home match against NAC Breda in 2004. Kudus rounded three players and sprinted past Rangers goalkeeper McLaughlin, but the ball shot too far for him. him to get it out.

Out of nowhere, Rangers, on the other hand, were dangerous when Jurriën Timber allowed a Ryan Kent pass on a cross from the right. The ball sailed just wide. For a moment, Rangers even thought to get to 3-1 via Borna Barisic, who scored nicely. However, the VAR disallowed the goal for offside.

In the end it even became 4-0 in Amsterdam. Rangers player Ryan Jack launched Bergwijn with a wrong pass and the left winger eagerly unwrapped that gift. He rounded the goalkeeper and completed Ajax’s champagne match, even though he had to leave the field with cramps and Rangers hit the post in injury time.