Ajax beat Telstar 4:0 in the Eredivisie's fourth regular-season round on Sunday. The visitors took all three points to move into ninth place, while Telstar remain in thirteenth. It was a straightforward afternoon for the away side, though the scoreline tells only part of the story.
And here's the thing — the first real moment came at minute 37 when D. Klaassen found the net. There was a false alarm two minutes later. J. Brandt thought he'd scored, but the referee cancelled the goal for offside. By then Ajax were already showing they could carve Telstar open whenever they wanted.
The second goal arrived after the break. S. Berghuis made it 2:0 at minute 56, and T. Arokodare added a third at minute 60. That gave Ajax breathing space, and they used it. Marcos Leonardo capped the scoring at minute 78. Three goals in twenty-two minutes turned a comfortable lead into something decisive.
Coaching staff decisions followed soon after. At minute 65 Ajax made four changes — R. Mendes, J. Seedorf, J. Hardeveld and D. Klaassen all came off together. S. Berghuis went at minute 73, followed by G. Alders and M. Peersman. Caio Henrique was the last to leave the pitch at minute 82.
The statistics back up what you saw. Ajax had 58 per cent of possession and created 4 big chances compared to Telstar's 2. Shots on target tell the same story — 9 to 4. Expected goals came in at 2.13 for the visitors against 1.13 for the hosts, which is exactly what you'd expect when one side is in control of the tie.
Telstar's away form has been difficult. They lost 1:3 to Sparta Rotterdam in their last outing before this result. Ajax, meanwhile, came off a 5:3 win against Sion on Saturday. This match changed nothing in the table for Ajax — they stay ninth with 4 points from 2 games — but Telstar's gap to safety may have grown slightly.