Ajax failed to properly follow up their sensational victory against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. In the first away match of the group stage, the Amsterdam team lost clearly to AS Roma: 0-3.
Defeat in Rome means Ajax will have to relinquish their lead in Group C. Roma and Bayern Munich, who beat PSG 1-0 earlier in the evening, are in the best position with four points after two weekends. Ajax is in third place.
Ajax defense shoots
While Ajax plays its home matches in the Champions League at the Johan Cruijff Arena, it faces AS Roma at the much smaller Stadio Tre Fontane. Even though the stands of the small stadium in Rome only had room for 2,500 spectators (including the men’s team’s coach José Mourinho), they still provided a great football atmosphere.
Fanatic chants from the home crowd inspired Roma to a strong start, at which point things turned dangerous after a few corners. This led to the opening goal by Valentina Giacinti just four minutes later, with Ajax capitalizing on a lack of organization in defence.
The Amsterdam team did not give up immediately and quickly came close to equalizing. Romée Leuchter looked in a promising position after good preparation work from Chasity Grant, but could not strike the ball well. A minute later, goalkeeper Camelia Ceasar parried Leuchter’s header.
His colleague on the other side then described him negatively. Ajax goalkeeper Regina van Eijk misjudged Isa Kardinaal’s back pass and Giacinti made it 2-0 for Roma.
Ajax helps Roma again
After this, Amsterdam’s revival was no longer possible. This was because the second half started badly. After the halftime break, the Cardinal put the ball in its own half, and the home team took the lead again with the goal scored by Manuela Giugliano: 3-0.
You can take a look at the goals scored by AS Roma against Ajax below.
Although Roma made things a little easier, Ajax still had to pay attention to the counter-attack. In fact, this only offered Lotte Keukelaar a chance. The substitute player, who replaced the injured Tiny Hoekstra in the first half, shot the crossbar.
Ajax will continue their Champions League play with an away match against Bayern Munich in three weeks.
Source: NOS
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
