Ajax led AZ 1-0 at half-time on Saturday evening, but ESPN pundits Arnold Bruggink and Karim El Ahmadi were unimpressed. Both questioned their intensity without the ball, with El Ahmadi singling out Tolu Arokodare, who had headed the Amsterdam side into the lead.
At the Johan Cruyff ArenA, Ajax started brightly and went ahead after just nine minutes. Tolu headed in Abdellah Ouazane's cross, but AZ then began to see more of the ball. "Ajax started reasonably well, with a good goal, but as the match went on, you could see Ajax giving AZ the ball more and more often to make the play," El Ahmadi observed.
Bruggink liked the build-up to the goal. He pointed to Ouazane's individual skill, which disrupted AZ's shape and gave Julian Brandt space. "Only then was there movement, and it really started with one very simple action. But I have to say honestly that this was just about the only thing Ajax did with the ball in the first half."
As Ajax's level dropped, their pressing fell well below par, according to El Ahmadi. "You're playing at home, and I don't think the energy with which they press is good enough," said the former midfielder. He said his team-mates' failure to put enough pressure on the ball drew Jorthy Mokio out of position.
"Mokio should really stay where he is, but he thinks: nobody's pressing, so I have to go and press. That takes him out of position and the gaps between the players become really big," El Ahmadi explained. Brandt and Tolu also came in for criticism: "I don't know whether Brandt was injured early on, but he's been doing this for several matches, and the same goes for Tolu."
After Brandt went off for Oscar Gloukh in the 38th minute, El Ahmadi feared Ajax's pressing would get worse. "With Gloukh and Tolu, I think it'll only get worse," he said. The former international then compared Ajax with PSV: "When you see how much energy PSV put into pressing against Feyenoord in the first half, and you're playing here in your own ArenA, I think this should be a lot better."
Bruggink shared El Ahmadi's concerns about Ajax's intensity. "Modern football is about sprinting. That's what matters, and Ajax simply don't do it at all without the ball," said the pundit. He felt AZ should have exploited the space Ajax gave them: "AZ should really be kicking themselves, but the problem is that they can't hurt their opponents at the moment. They create far too little."
Despite his goal, Tolu offered little without the ball and drew El Ahmadi's sharpest criticism. "I can understand why he didn't succeed in the Premier League. If you do this in the Premier League, I think you're substituted straight away."