Ajax delivered an impressive performance on Sunday afternoon, securing a 2-5 win against FC Groningen.

Julian Brandt continued his excellent form and put Ajax ahead before Aaron Bouwman doubled their lead. 

Brynjólfur Willumsson scored for Groningen early on in the second half to give Groningen hope, but Brandt restored the two-goal deficit not long after. Jorthy Mokio then found the back of the net twice to give Ajax a 1-5 lead.

Thom van Bergen scored a consolation goal for the home side and had the opportunity to score another in stoppage time through a penalty, but Marc ter Stegen pulled off an impressive save.

Pressure was growing on Michel Sanchez prior to the game. Ajax were winless in their last three games, and the performances against NEC Nijmegen and Hajduk Split were poor. The first half in Split in particular was far from good enough. Ajax created very little and struggled to progress the ball forward.

The performance against Groningen was much improved compared to the last two games, and the level was closer to the performances Ajax produced before the international break in games against Fortuna Sittard and Willem II.

Against Groningen, Ajax started with a midfield three of Sofyan Amrabat, Mokio and Brandt. On the wings, Ajax had Oscar Gloukh and Davy Klaassen, who both have experience in midfield and moved into more central positions during the game.

Mokio played very well against Groningen, and in a post-match interview with NOS, Mokio spoke about Ajax's performances and how playing with five midfielders helped them.

"There is always pressure at Ajax, but I think we handled the pressure well today," Mokio said.

"That we secured a reasonable victory. We took to the field with five midfielders and were more dynamic. By the looks of it, it paid off.

"Today we heard which lineup we would be playing with and saw that we would be starting with five midfielders. That would make things a bit different with the pressing, but in terms of footballing ability, we had to play our own game."

Ajax have an issue on the right wing. Steven Berghuis has missed the last few games due to injury, and Viktor Tsygankov has struggled to find his best form so far in an Ajax shirt.

Davy Klaassen could therefore play in the role he did against FC Groningen more often: a right winger out of possession who moves into more central areas in possession.

Ajax started with a midfield three of Amrabat, Klaassen and Brandt against Hajduk Split, but that midfield three lacks energy and a mobile midfielder who can cover ground quickly.

Mokio can do that, and as seen against Groningen, he can also contribute in the final third with goals. Klaassen adds experience to Ajax's team, and despite the fact that he is not the most athletic, he has several good qualities, like his ability to move into the right spaces in and around the penalty box to score goals.

By moving Klaassen to the right-hand side and playing Mokio as the no. 8, it would allow Michel to keep Klaassen in the starting line-up, as well as add energy to the midfield. Mokio is also technically excellent and can help Ajax progress the ball forward through his ball-carrying.