A tale of nine points & the 99th minute - how Ajax blew title
Ajax manager sco Farioli had spells in Turkey and before taking charge at Ajax in 2024
- Published
Six weeks ago it looked inevitable Ajax would win a record-extending 37th Eredivisie title.
Ajax have not laid their hands on the trophy since 2021-22, but a 2-0 win at second-placed PSV Eindhoven on 30 March sent them nine points clear.
It felt like any talk of a title race was done and dusted.
PSV captain Luuk de Jong conceded that with seven games remaining they had to focus on securing second place.
"Nine points is too much - I don't think it's ever been made up with so few games left. We're focusing on that second Champions League spot," De Jong told ESPN after the game.
Fast forward one and a half months and PSV fans were going wild in their own stadium.
PSV had just wrapped up a routine 4-1 win against Heracles when reports filtered through that Ajax had conceded a 99th-minute equaliser at 10-man Groningen.
Those two results meant PSV remarkably climbed to the summit, one point above Ajax.
PSV had won six games in succession since the hammer blow of defeat at the hands of Ajax, while their title rivals seemed to have let complacency slip in - dropping 10 points across four fixtures.
Ajax required a favour from Sparta Rotterdam on the final day of the season, but PSV secured a routine 3-1 win to ensure the title would remain in Eindhoven for another year.
Ajax have ended the campaign without a major trophy for the third successive season
Like many football fans in Europe, former Ajax and PSV midfielder Wim Jonk started to follow the top-of-the-table battle more intensely as is became a tight race in the latter weeks.
"Ajax have come a long way and then managed to build up a big lead," said Jonk.
"But the moment you drop points the outside world will start talking and then the question is what will happen psychologically within the team?
"You could see it with Ajax - as the pressure mounted, their game started to freeze up. It's not about a lack of quality because there are some good players in that squad."
Jonk could see it particularly in the home games against Sparta Rotterdam and NEC Nijmegen, when Ajax performed below par.
"When something went wrong during the match, it looked like something switched in their minds - 'What's going on here"Graphic image of, from left to right, Alex Albon, George Russell, Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso and Oliver Bearman. It is on a blue background with 'Fan Q&A' below the drivers " loading="lazy" src="https://image.staticox.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fichef.bbci.co.uk%2Face%2Fstandard%2F480%2Fsprodpb%2F7ff9%2Flive%2Fd42302e0-34b3-11f0-8519-3b5a01ebe413.jpg" width="385" height="216" class="ssrcss-11yxrdo-Image edrdn950"/>
