Ajax eased their way past a disappointing Sturm Graz side in this week’s Champions League Qualification.

Ajax dominate

One of the first notable things about Ajax’s possession phase, particularly in the first half an hour or so, was their asymmetric structure. Ziyech, nominally the right winger, usually drifted between the right halfspace and centre, behind the Sturm Graz midfield line. Meanwhile the right-back, Mazraoui, had a quite deep starting position and often came narrow. So there were scenes in which the right wing for Ajax was not occupied at all. Instead, they were very focused on combinations through the centre and left halfspace with their super strong occupation in these areas. This left-side focus did fade as the game went on. When they did attack down the right, it was usually from a spontaneous movement or dribble from Ziyech, but more often, they were unable to force a breakthrough on this side.

What was impressive about Ajax in possession was their fluid movement, and consistent occupation of the space between lines. Players rotated, but always coordinated their movements to ensure that they had a structure to allow them to penetrate Sturm Graz’ midfield and be strong in combinations.

Carel Eiting, aside from his very efficient performance on the ball, was the perfect example of this. From his starting position as part of a double pivot alongside Schone, he frequently drifted between lines into good positions to receive. His awareness of his teammates’ positions/actions, and where he should move accordingly, was outstanding. When de Jong advanced with the ball  from his left centre-back position, Eiting moved away to pin the opposition back, or be left free if they went to press de Jong. When van de Beek drops from his advanced position in the left halfspace, Eiting again recognises that the space between lines needs to be filled. He makes constant adjustments to his positioning to ensure strong spacing and create good passing angles.

Elsewhere, Tagliafico was very flexible with his supporting movements. He moved up on the wing when Neres went inside, or stayed deep to offer stability and cover for de Jong’s forays forward. Schone remained deep in the centre and right halfspace, and was the main player, aside from de Jong, in launching Ajax attacks. Meanwhile van de Beek occupied the space between lines very well, mainly in the left halfspace, as well as occasionally rotating with Eiting and Neres. Huntelaar also offered himself for wall-passes to facilitate 3rd man combinations. Overall, Ajax’s possession game was well balanced due to the coordination shown in the players’ movements.

Sturm Graz leave the #10 space open

As mentioned, Ajax occupied the space between lines very well. However, they were helped in accessing this space by the fact that the two Sturm Graz central midfielders in their 5-4-1 were easily drawn forward while trying to close down the likes of de Jong, Schone, and Eiting.

This aspect is perhaps best summarised by looking at Ajax’s first goal:

More asymmetry in pressing

It wasn’t just in their possession game that Ajax had some asymmetry. They started from a 4-2-3-1, against the 3-4-3 of Sturm Graz when the Austrian side had the ball. The right winger, Ziyech, usually stayed pretty high, and slightly narrow against the left side-back of Sturm Graz. Mazraoui then pushed up onto the left wing-back. Ziyech also on occasions found himself swapping roles with Huntelaar in pressing, with the striker dropping back into a right-midfield role.

On the other side, Neres was more withdrawn, and would track deeper and wider with the opposition’s right wing-back, while Tagliafico stayed more narrow. So sometimes their pressing could resemble something close to a 3-5-2. van de Beek would mark one of the central midfielders, usually the one closest to the ball, and Eiting would occasionally pick up the other. Schone covered the #6 area and swept up behind Mazraoui if necessary.

Again, however, the challenge posed to them by Sturm Graz in this phase wasn’t huge. They didn’t really have the structure or individual ability in their fairly flat 3-4-3 to create interesting situations.

2nd half: Sturm Graz go to 4-1-4-1

As well as a formation switch, Sturm Graz were now trying to press in a mid-block, whereas in the first half they were mostly sat on the edge of their box. Initially this seemed like it might help. They were able to generate more pressure on Ajax’s key buildup players, namely Schone and de Jong, through the pushing out of the #8s, who now had a defensive midfielder behind them.

However, Ajax quickly found solutions. The spaces either side of the Sturm Graz #6 were still accessible through the likes of van de Beek. Ziyech and Neres both occupied the right wing role at different times, but were now marked more tightly by Sturm Graz’ left-back, even when moving inside. However, they were still able to be used for 3rd man combinations with their back to goal. With the left-back vacating his position, the left midfielder for Sturm Graz found himself tracking the runs of Mazraoui, who now pushed further forward. So with the left-back inside, and the left-midfielder dropping, Sturm Graz were actually forced into a back 5 again in some scenes when Ajax had the ball.

Ajax’s pressing was slightly different in accordance with the formation change from Sturm Graz. Mazraoui was pushed back by the opposition left winger, so was less active in pressing than in the first half. In the midfield, things were actually simplified, as Ajax could now go more man-oriented against the midfield three of Sturm Graz. Tagliafico was slightly higher in some cases, where Sturm Graz’ right-back would stay deep and narrow, and the right-winger would drop deeper too, bringing Tagliafico with him.

Conclusion

Ajax showed some signs of why they should be one of the teams to look out for this season. Not only are they tactically very interesting, but they also have some incredibly cool players such as Frenkie de Jong, Blind, Eiting, Ziyech and more.