OneFootball
Padraig Whelan·29 January 2023
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Padraig Whelan·29 January 2023
Ajax got back to winning ways following the sacking of Alfred Schreuder by overcoming Excelsior in impressive fashion on Sunday afternoon.
Scorers: El Yaakoubi 36′; Tadić (PEN) 15′, Klaassen 45′, Kudus 61′, Rensch 84′
With John Heitinga taking over first team duties, he immediately stamped his own mark on things by putting Dušan Tadić through the middle as striker, moving Mohammed Kudus to the right and dropping disappointing big-money signing Calvin Bassey.
And he watched his side get off to the perfect start with 15 minutes on the clock as captain Tadić fired them in front from the penalty spot before Redouan El Yaakoubi levelled for the hosts with a looping back post header.
But Ajax restored their lead in first half injury-time through Davy Klaassen when Tadić picked him out in the box with a delightful flick despite having no room and the midfielder squeezed his strike home.
They put the game beyond doubt when Kudus showed why he advocated against his centre forward experiment by coming in off the right and firing an emphatic effort in via the post with his left foot.
Devyne Rensch finished things off in style with another superb goal by planting his effort into the far corner after again coming in off the right.
The result ends the Amsterdam giants’ six-game winless run in the Eredivisie, where they move up to fourth in the standings, five points off the top.