Ajax secured their fourth consecutive victory on Saturday night against AZ Alkmaar. 

Tolu Arokodare continued his fine form and scored for the third game in a row to put Ajax ahead early on. Tolu's goal was assisted by Abdellah Ouazane, whose cross to Tolu was fantastic.

After that, the Amsterdammers failed to create chances regularly and assert the same level of dominance they have in other games this season. That may have been down to the fact that Julian Brandt was substituted off in the first half due to an injury. The German has been brilliant for Ajax this season and has been one of the most creative players in the Eredivisie.

Despite that, Ajax managed to hold onto the lead and secure three crucial points in the Eredivisie title race.

During Saturday night’s game, Sofyan Amrabat would regularly drop into the first line next to the centre-backs, with Jorthy Mokio often acting as the lone pivot in midfield in such situations. 

Ajax would then have six players in the last line, including the two full-backs. Ajax have a lot of attacking-minded full-backs and wingers who like to move inside. Amrabat is also better on the ball when facing play. This attacking shape therefore works well and is likely something that Michel Sanchez will use frequently this season. 

Mokio is also energetic, and having him deeper strengthens Ajax’s rest defence, as he can cover ground quickly to help defend transitions. 

While Ajax’s shape was quite good in terms of maximising the qualities of the players on the pitch, Ajax struggled to create chances throughout the game against AZ Alkmaar, and in the second half in particular, they were very poor on the ball. 

In most games this season, Ajax have created quite a high volume of chances, but on Saturday, the Amsterdammers only managed to create one big chance, which was the goal. 

The positive sign is just like against Sparta Rotterdam last weekend, Ajax are finding ways to win games that they don’t play well in, and that is a hallmark of a title-winning team. 

Tolu now has 10 goals in 15 games in all competitions for Ajax. The Nigerian striker has quickly become one of Michel’s most important players and is now arguably the best striker in the Eredivisie. 

He can hold the ball up, is strong, can link play and is an excellent finisher. His movement in and around the penalty box is exceptional, and he has almost everything a head coach would want in a striker. The only glaring weakness in his game is the fact that he doesn’t run in behind, but with the right wingers, that does not have to be an issue.

Signing Tolu on a permanent transfer has to be a top priority for Jordi Cruijff.

Ajax’s press this season has been an issue, but in the last few games, particularly against FC Groningen, it was a lot better. 

Against AZ Alkmaar, though, Ajax lacked intensity. They were often set up to press, but gave the opposition far too much time on the ball and therefore struggled to force turnovers high up the pitch. They also often allowed AZ Alkmaar to have numerical superiority in build-up. That allowed Ajax to have an overload in the last line to be more defensively stable, but meant AZ Alkmaar often had a free man in build-up.

Under Michel, Girona were also never a great high-pressing team. If Ajax really wants to dominate games, especially against teams that try to keep the ball, they need to improve this aspect of their game. 

After Ajax’s defeat to Hajduk Split, some suggested that the club should part ways with Michel. 

Since then, Ajax have won four in a row, and while the performances against Sparta in the second half and against AZ Alkmaar were underwhelming, Ajax now sit just one point behind league leaders Feyenoord. 

When you take into consideration that it’s only Michel’s first season, as well as how poor Ajax were last season and also the fact they signed 12 new players, some of which are still adapting, it is very impressive that Michel has got Ajax winning as many games as they are this early on into the project.