Ajax secured another comfortable victory on Tuesday night, defeating Willem II 5-1.
Ajax made it two wins in two games as they beat Willem II 5-1 on Tuesday night at the Johan Cruijff ArenA.
Ajax were dominant in the first half, but Willem II made it difficult for them to find a breakthrough. After roughly 40 minutes, though, Ajax finally broke the deadlock as Davy Klaassen found the back of the net.
Shortly after, Julian Brandt scored an impressive goal, which meant Michel Sanchez's side took a 2-0 lead into the break.
Ajax continued their dominance in the second half as Viktor Tsygankov scored his first goal in an Ajax shirt following his transfer from Girona. Oscar Gloukh, who had a very good game, also got on the scoresheet as he found the back of the net for Ajax's fourth goal of the night.
Alessandro Ciranni scored a consolation goal for the visitors, after which Kasper Dolberg scored Ajax's fifth and final goal of the game.
#1: Ajax have reliable squad depth
If Ajax go far in the UEFA Conference League, which is quite probable, Michel will have to rotate his team regularly. Therefore, if Ajax want to challenge for European and domestic success this season, Ajax need reliable squad depth, and against Willem II, Ajax showed that they do have a very good squad.
Michel made a number of changes to Ajax's starting line-up against Willem II. Marc ter Stegen, Anton Gaaei, Caio Henrique, Sofyan Amrabat, Tolu Arokodare and Oliver Edvardsen all started against Fortuna Sittard, but they were all on the bench against Willem II.
Despite that, Ajax cruised to a victory, showing that the quality of the squad is good enough that Michel can rotate in games against lesser opposition and still win comfortably.
#2: Ajax are sensational going forward
Despite the departure of Mika Godts, who scored 17 goals and registered 12 assists in the Eredivisie last season, Ajax have been brilliant going forward so far this season. Ajax scored another five goals against Willem II, having also scored five in their last game against Fortuna Sittard.
Ajax have now scored 19 Eredivisie goals in their first six games, the third most of any team in the league. Ajax also scored 22 goals in their six UEFA Conference League qualifying games, meaning they have scored a total of 41 goals in 12 games in all competitions this season. That is an average of 3.4 per game.
That is even more impressive when you take into account that Godts' replacement, Simon Adingra, is yet to play.
#3: Brandt is Ajax's signing of the summer
Ajax made a number of brilliant signings this summer, but it is hard to make an argument against Brandt being the best one, especially considering Ajax signed him on a free transfer.
Brandt has now scored five goals in 10 games for Ajax and created an impressive nine chances against Willem II in the 67 minutes he played, the most of any player on the pitch.
The departure of Mika Godts was not ideal for Ajax from a sporting perspective. The Belgian winger was sensational last season for the Amsterdammers and was one of the best players in the Eredivisie. Brandt and Godts obviously do not play in the same position. However, similarly to Godts, Brandt is capable of almost single-handedly swinging games in Ajax's favour.
#4: Gloukh shines on the left wing
Against Fortuna Sittard, Edvardsen started on the left wing and struggled to make an impact. The Norwegian winger is good at making runs in behind, but he is not suited to playing against a low block, which is why he struggled on Saturday night.
Michel therefore decided to start Gloukh on the left wing on Tuesday, knowing that Willem II would sit deep. Gloukh has quality in small spaces and can therefore help his team find an opening against defensively compact teams.
Gloukh was sensational on Tuesday night, registering a goal and an assist. He created an impressive eight chances, including two big ones.
Michel has three quality options on the left wing with Adingra, Gloukh and Abdellah Ouazane.
#5: Dolberg finds form
Dolberg has struggled to find consistency since moving back to Ajax last summer. He did not look great in the first few games of the season, and Ajax were even open to letting him go in the summer.
However, the Danish forward now seems to finally be finding form. He scored on Saturday night against Fortuna Sittard and registered two assists and scored one goal against Willem II.
Tolu Arokodare has been exceptional so far this season, but Dolberg is starting to show Michel that he can also rely on him when needed.
