Ajax made it three wins in a row after securing a 1-2 victory against Sparta Rotterdam on Sunday afternoon.

Ajax took the lead through a fantastic finish from Abdellah Ouazane, who impressed against Atalanta and replaced Oscar Gloukh in the starting line-up on the left wing on Sunday afternoon.

For the majority of the first half, Ajax maintained control of the game and did not allow Sparta Rotterdam to create many chances. Despite that, though, Jens Toornstra scored for the home side towards the end of the first half to level the score. 

Sparta's joy was short-lived, though, as Tolu Arokodare restored Ajax's lead in stoppage time with a composed and controlled finish.

Rogier Meijer's side put Ajax under real pressure in the second half, but Michel Sanchez's team managed to hold onto the lead.

As the game went on, Ajax had less control and often opted to adopt a more direct approach as opposed to building out from the back, but in the first half, Ajax struggled to progress the ball through central areas against Sparta Rotterdam and often tried to play around the home side by using the flanks.

A possible reason for this is that Aaron Bouwman did not start, and Youri Baas played at left-back. Both Baas and Bouwman are exceptional at breaking lines and finding gaps in the structure of opposition teams to allow Ajax to progress play through the middle of the pitch. Thilo Kehrer and Dies Janse are both very good players on the ball, but they did not break lines centrally in the way Baas and Bouwman usually do.

In the first half, and particularly up until Sparta scored the equaliser, Ajax were in complete control. They controlled possession, created a few decent chances and deservedly had a lead at half-time. 

In the second half, though, Sparta put Ajax under serious pressure in certain phases. Ajax defended the penalty box very well, and Marc ter Stegen made a couple of impressive saves. Ajax therefore held onto their lead, but it was a concerning drop-off in performance level compared to the first half.

Ajax have had a busy schedule since returning from the international break, and fatigue could be playing a role, but Michel has done a good job at rotating his squad, and he made five changes on Sunday. 

Ouazane once again proved on Sunday afternoon just how good he is. His goal was exceptionally well-taken. He has now scored in both of his last two games.

Gloukh is a good player who offers a lot, but his end product is not good enough, and he often makes the wrong decisions in the final third. Gloukh can be a good squad player for Ajax and can play both on the left and as a No. 10, but Ouazane is a player of a different level. The 17-year-old has to start for Ajax in the majority of games this season if he continues to perform as he has.

Simon Adingra was meant to strengthen Ajax on the left wing but has only made one appearance so far. The Ivorian has been struggling with injuries, and it is hard to imagine Ajax activating the €16 million buy option when they have a player like Ouazane.

Julian Brandt has now created the most chances in the Eredivisie this season, but he had to wait till today for his first assist. He assisted Ouazane's goal which made it 1-0, and his second assist followed not long later as he assisted Tolu's goal which made it 2-1.

He has already scored several goals for Ajax, but his ability to create chances is one of his most valuable attributes. He is an extremely intelligent player who has enough quality to swing the momentum of games in Ajax's favour.

Since the disappointing defeat to Hajduk Split, Ajax have bounced back and shown that they are genuine contenders for the Eredivisie title. They have won all of their last three games, and apart from the second half against Sparta, they have generally played very good football.

It is still early in the season, and fatigue will likely play a bigger role as the season goes on, but over the last week, they have shown that they can cope with a busy schedule and still win games.

As mentioned above, Ajax have generally played quite well over the last three games, but a hallmark of title-winning teams is their ability to win even in games where they did not play well, and Ajax did just that on Sunday against Sparta.