Crisis deepens at Ajax after 2-1 home defeat against Excelsior

Ajax’s situation has not improved following John Heitinga’s departure. Under interim manager Fred Grim, the team suffered another setback, this time a 2–1 home defeat to Excelsior in the Johan Cruyff ArenA, coming only two weeks after the loss at FC Utrecht. Excelsior’s Noah Naujoks netted both goals, giving the club its first-ever away victory over the once-dominant side from Amsterdam.

Ajax currently occupies fourth place, though FC Utrecht, FC Groningen, and NEC could all move ahead of the club on Sunday. After 13 league matches, the gap to league leader PSV has grown to 14 points.

Under Grim, Ajax continues to struggle with the issues that also surfaced during Heitinga’s tenure. The side occasionally looks promising but rarely turns that into genuine scoring opportunities. Oscar Gloukh, for instance, had a clear opening to play Oliver Edvardsen in for a one-on-one against the Excelsior goalkeeper, only to misplace the pass. Wout Weghorst later found room to fire as well, but his brief hesitation allowed a defender to step in and block the shot.

Ajax’s defensive frailties continued to show. Although Excelsior created little danger, the away side went ahead in the 37th minute when Naujoks, benefiting from a lucky bounce, beat Josip Sutalo and finished calmly into the corner. Just two minutes after the break, Naujoks doubled the lead, capitalizing on a major mistake from left back Gerald Alders, who inadvertently nodded the ball directly to him.

Dolberg needed barely two minutes to make an impact, pulling a goal back in the 59th minute. Ajax pressed for a second afterward, but opportunities were scarce. Weghorst had two promising efforts, but neither resulted in a goal.