Ajax beat Utrecht to win their first Eredivisie match in a month

Goals from Brian Brobbey and Kenneth Taylor gave Ajax their first league win in a month on Sunday. The Amsterdammers defeated Utrecht 2-0 in the Johan Cruijff Arena. It was the first time Utrecht had lost in the Eredivisie since October 6.

Ajax were missing Steven Berghuis for the match. But were boosted by the return of Jordan Henderson. The midfielder was partnered by Sivert Mannsverk, who was picked over Benjamin Tahirovic and Branco Van den Boomen.

Van ’t Schip went with a new formation for the game due to centre-back Josip Sutalo being injured. Ahmetcan Kaplan started at the center of a five-man defence.

Utrecht was sloppy in possession but did create a significant chance in the first half. The away side had their biggest opportunity of the first half a minute after Brian Brobbey had spun on the ball and shot straight at Mattijs Branderhorst. Othman Boussaid played an excellent ball to striker Sam Lammers in the air, who made space in the box before hitting the volley far over the goal.

It proved costly as Ajax took the lead a minute later. Borne Sosa lobbed the ball over the Utrecht defence to the striker, whose first-time effort went through the legs of Branderhorst.

The crowd in the Johan Cruijff Arena thought that Brobbey had doubled his goal tally for the day in the 62nd minute. Kristian Hlynsson headed on a corner to the far post, where Brobbey hit the side netting with his instep.

The home side doubled their lead with just under 15 minutes to go. Brobbey was at the heart of it again, playing a one-two with Kenneth Taylor, who then followed Brobbey’s example from the first half and placed it through the legs of Branderhorst.

Ajax’s job was much harder when Devyne Rensch was sent off a studs-up tackle on Lammers after a VAR review in the 83rd minute.

Utrecht was unable to create many moments of danger in the final minutes of the match, resulting in Ajax’s first clean sheet in 16 games.

FC Utrecht travel to Almere for their next league match. Ajax’s next match is considerably tougher as they face Aston Villa in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday.