Ajax would have hoped to make it three wins in three following victories against Fortuna Sittard and Willem II, but the Amsterdammers had to settle for just a point against Excelsior on Saturday night against Excelsior.

Julian Brandt continued his fine form and put Ahead ahead with a well-taken goal. On the brink of half-time, though, Excelsior found an equaliser through Lennard Hartjes.

Ajax continued to dominate the game in the second half, but trailed 1-2 just past the hour mark after Aymen Sliti put the visitors ahead.

Excelsior's joy was very short-lived, though. Just two minutes after coming on, Tolu Arokodare drew Ajax level.

Ajax continued to push for the win in the final phase of the game and had a couple of decent chances to score a third goal, but failed to do so.

After seven games, Ajax sit fifth in the Eredivisie behind PSV Eindhoven, AZ Alkmaar, Feyenoord and FC Twente. The gap between Ajax and league leaders AZ Alkmaar is five points.

In a post-match interview with ESPN, Marc ter Stegen shared his thoughts on Ajax's performance.

"Everyone saw the game and knows that we deserved a bit more. When we were up 1-0 in the first half, I think we should have gone for 2-0. Of course, a rebound can always happen somewhere, and Excelsior also has the quality to score," Ter Stegen explained.

"But it was clearly our fault. We created a lot of chances, but ultimately you shouldn't concede two goals.

"We can't afford to concede that many goals.

"We are going to keep improving, but I think the supporters can be proud of the image we showed. That is about the way we play. I have to say that we played a very good match."

Ajax have been sensational going forward so far this season and have scored 21 goals in their first seven Eredivisie games. From a defensive point of view, though, Ajax need to improve if they want to win the Eredivisie.

Excelsior's second goal last night came from a transition. Ajax had seven players back to defend, while Excelsior were only attacking with four. Despite that, Excelsior found a way to score. A team that wants to win the title simply cannot afford to have too many moments like that in a season.

Ajax also looked defensively poor at times against FC Sion and in the away game against Shelbourne FC. Michel Sanchez, at times, pushes both full-backs quite high, which means Ajax, at times, play in a 2-1-7 on the ball.

This is a very offensive approach which can leave a team vulnerable to defensive transitions. Against Excelsior, Ajax were typically more in a 3-1-6, but did not have a specialist defensive midfielder,r which weakened them defensively.

Sofyan Amrabat started on the bench, with Mokio operating as a deeper midfielder. Mokio is immensely talented, but is probably more of a no. 8, as opposed to a no. 6.

A lot of Ajax's wingers like to play more centrally, and both Henrique and Gaaei like to get high up the pitch. Ajax need to sign a full-back in January who is more defensive to help add balance to the team. Against teams lower down the league, the 2-1-7 can work, but against top teams in the league as well as in Europe, Michel will struggle to find defensive balance with the current team he has.