Under Alfred Schreuder, Ajax is still looking for its best form, but in the Champions League there is always Mohammed Kudus. For the third match day in a row, he put his name on the scoreboard.
Napoli, however, was not deterred. More so, it dictated after the fast 1-0 and Ajax – it hurt the eyes – completely lost.
The Dutch defense fell through the basket at the high pace, after a humiliating first half it was already 1-3. Napoli was just much sharper and was merciless in front of the cage.
An embarrassment hung in the air, it became an outright beating.
The cheese with holes was appreciated by the visitors: Giacomo Raspadori pushed the knife a little deeper into the wound shortly after the break.
With the 1-5 and the 1-6 the humiliation was complete. A final score that TV analyst Jan Boskamp had already predicted halfway through…
6 goals against on a European evening in Amsterdam: for Ajax is the beating a first that makes the heart bleed in every room.
Steven Berghuis was the mouthpiece shortly after the final whistle. “We were just not good enough. Napoli outclassed us,” was his logical analysis.
“We gave away childish goals. This is just not possible. We have to raise our level and that has painfully highlighted Napoli.”
