Ajax lose to newly promoted side NAC Breda after goal in injury time

Ajax suffered a painful loss in the away match against NAC Breda. The club lost 2-1 with a lineup with eight changes compared to the match against Panathinaikos on Thursday. NAC captain Jan van den Bergh scored the winning goal for the newly promoted side in injury time, who returned to the highest level with a loss against FC Groningen last weekend.

Manager Francesco Farioli is mainly looking at the players' fitness while picking his team for the time being. After the long match and penalty shootout, which consisted of 34 penalties against Panathinaikos last Thursday, he decided to start with eight changes from that side. Only Remko Pasveer, Josip Sutalo, and Jorrel Hato kept their place in the side.

Brian Brobbey, who missed both of his penalties against Panathinaikos and Bertrand Traore made their first starts of the season. Vital players like Steven Berghuis, Jordan Henderson, Kenneth Taylor, and Devyne Rensch were rested in preparation for Thursday's away match against the Polish champions Jagiellonia Bialystok in the playoffs for a spot in the UEFA Europa League.

Brobbey missed a chance to break the deadlock in the third minute. The striker was not able to impress against the promoted side, who have played against Jong Ajax, the Amsterdammer's youth team, for the last five years. The ball often bounced off his foot.

It was not just Brobbey who was having a bad game. Ajax lost possession of the ball so often that NAC Breda was hardly ever in trouble. The home team emphasized defending so much that they also did not create many chances.

Farioli made the first change when a goal from Van den Bergh was disallowed for offside. The Italian manager brought on Berghuis, Kian Fitz-Jim for Traore, Branco van den Boomen, and Kristian Hlynsson. The three were not even on the pitch for a minute when Matthew Garbett scored the first goal for NAC Breda (1-0).

Ajax equalized five minutes later. Hato scored after a corner taken by Berghuis (1-1). Even with Steven Bergwijn, who had replaced Mika Godts, Ajax did not get a coveted second goal. NAC faltered in the final phase but struck with a free kick in injury time. Van den Bergh ensured that the fans of NAC will be celebrating long into the night after the club's first home game of the season.