Ajax keep faint hopes of Champions League progression alive with win away at Villarreal
Ajax kept their faint hopes of UEFA Champions League progression alive with a 2-1 win away against Villarreal on Thursday. A last-minute winner from Viktor Edvardsen gave interim manager Fred Grim his second win in a row in the competition after Dani Oluwaseyi and Oscar Gloukh had scored the earlier goals.
The Amsterdammers face Olympiacos in the final game of the league phase. They are currently 31st out of 36 teams. The top 24 progress to the playoff round of the competition. Ajax are currently only two points behind that spot, but there are another six teams ahead of them, with some teams having to play tomorrow.
Ajax were boosted by the return of Youri Baas. The center back missed Ajax’s last two games, in which they conceded eight goals to AZ Alkmaar and Go Ahead Eagles, through injury.
Prior to the game, the two were among the bottom three lowest placed sides in the UEFA Champions League this season. Ajax started the game in 34th place, with Villarreal a place lower. Only the Kazakh side, Kairat Almaty, was below both sides.
The home side dominated the early proceedings. Vitezslav Jarosmade a fantastic save early on to prevent Sergi Cardona from heading home when the defender had been left unmarked from a corner.
The resulting corner forced another great stop from the Czech keeper. This time, it was Nicolas Pepe who saw his effort punched away by Jaros.
Most of the first half was dominated by Marcelino’s side, with former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey forcing Jaros into another save in the 34th minute after Dani Oluwaseyi had beaten Aaron Bouwman and forced a dangerous chance.
Despite this, Ajax could, and maybe should have gone into halftime with a 1-0 lead. A cross went through the box to Owen Wijndal at the far post. The left back’s shot was decent, forcing a good save from Villarreal keeper Arnau Tenas. A good argument could be made that he should have played the ball across to striker Kasper Dolberg, who was waiting for a simple finish.
The home side took the lead in the 49th minute. An error from Aaron Bouwman gave Oluwaseyi the opportunity of a shot at goal, and he took advantage, hitting a powerful volley into the far corner.
Ajax leveled the game on the hour mark. A free kick was chipped towards the far corner by Oscar Gloukh and was headed into the goal by Villarreal captain Santi Comesana.
Nicolas Pepe had a significant chance to give Villarreal the lead again in the 69th minute. The Ivorian winger got past Wijndal, but the full back did enough to put the former Arsenal man off before his finish, which led to an easy save for Jaros.
Ajax got the winning goal in the 89th minute. Anton Gaaei was played in on the wing. He pulled the ball back to Victor Edvarsen, who gave Tenas no chance with his finish, which was low and hard into the bottom corner.
Jaros, who played a fantastic game, got away with one in the final minutes. The keeper came out to claim a cross from a corner, but missed it, giving Gabriel Veiga a chance to score. Fortunately for Ajax, the Portuguese defender overhit the header.
