Ajax lose to Brighton again in the UEFA Europa League 

Ajax have lost to Brighton & Hove Albion for the second time in two weeks (0-2). Manager John Van ’t Schip’s side is even more adrift in last place in Group B of the Europa League.

With an away match against Olympique Marseille and a home match against AEK Athens to come, Ajax still has a chance of European Football after the winter break. The third team can qualify for the Conference League, the third-rank European competition. Just two years ago, the Amsterdammers finished their Champions League group stage with six wins out of six.

Ajax went for a different tactic than two weeks ago when the team played defensively and lost without a chance in the English town (2-0). Manager Van ’t Schip demanded bravery from his players. Ajax went on the attack, but it did not lead to any big chances until the ending stages of the match. The home fans in the Johan Cruijff arena appealed for a penalty twice in the first half. Referee Nikola Dabanovic from Montenegro left a handball and a hard push in the back of Brian Brobbey unpunished.

Brighton, the seventh-placed team in the Premier League, started the match with three Dutch players. Goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, Joel Veltman, and Jan Paul van Hecke were cheering after 15 minutes played. Silvano Vos, the 18-year-old replacement for the injured Branco van den Boomen, lost the ball suddenly to Simon Adingra. The midfielder from the Ivory Coast gave the ball to Ansu Fati. The loanee attacker from FC Barcelona gave goalkeeper Diant Ramaj no chance (0-1).

Van ’t Schip replaced midfielder Kenneth Taylor with attacker Chuba Akpom after halftime. The Englishman scored three times as a substitute against FC Volendam and SC Heerenveen in the last week. He was only on the pitch for eight minutes when Brighton made it 0-2. This time, Fati was the supplier, and Adingra was the goalscorer.

Ajax was shocked for a while but then went for an all-or-nothing approach with a few substitutes. It was nothing. Brobbey’s effort hit the inside of both posts before rolling back into play. Also, the substitute Carlos Forbs and Steven Bergwijn did not beat goalkeeper Verbruggen.