Aug 24, 2023 at 9:56 PM Update: 3 minutes ago
Ajax seems certain of participation in the group stage of the Europa League after just one match. Partly thanks to a hat-trick by Mohammed Kudus, the team from Amsterdam won the first leg in the play-offs against Ludogorets 1-4.
Within twenty minutes it was 0-2 in Bulgaria. Both goals came from Kudus, who also scored the fourth goal in the second half. Brian Brobbey had made it 0-3 in the first half. At the start of the final phase, Ludogorets defender Olivier Verdon saved the honor from a penalty.
It may have been Kudus’ last goals for Ajax. The 23-year-old Ghanaian has been coveted by West Ham United for some time. According to British media, there is now also interest from Saudi Arabia.
Due to the result of 0-4, the return between Ajax and Ludogorets seems to be a formality. The teams meet each other next Thursday at 8 p.m. in the Johan Cruijff ArenA.
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Ajax has little to fear from weak Ludogorets
The opening phase of Ludogorets-Ajax was a bit slow, although the visitors from Amsterdam were actually the better team right away. After fifteen minutes it resulted in the first goal by Kudus, who hit the target in the short corner.
About two minutes later it was already 0-2. After a nice attack, Kenneth Taylor got the ball with a nice through ball at Kudus, who passed former Eredivisie keeper Sergio Padt for the second time.
In the remainder of the first half, Ajax occasionally had to watch out for counter-attacks from Ludogorets, although they never really became dangerous. Maurice Steijn’s team struck again via Brobbey, who headed through Padt’s legs.
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Ajax keeper Gorter excels
After the break, keeper Jay Gorter was one of the stars at Ajax. He asserted himself after a few minutes with a great save on a low stake and also had a nice save later in the second half.
In between, Kudus again made the score even better for Ajax. Again the Ghanaian was the end station of a nicely played attack. Because of that goal, Ludogorets’ resistance was finally broken, insofar as that was not already the case.
Still, Gorter had to get the ball out of his goal one more time. Ludogorets defender Verdon was allowed to take a penalty twenty minutes before the end after hands from Jorrel Hato and did not fail. But the tension was already gone by then. In extra time, Gorter showed himself again with a nice save.
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Image: Pro Shots
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2023-08-24 19:56:00
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