Ajax's Disappointing Defeat: Van der Gijp on Berghuis's Miss
René van der Gijp could hardly believe what he’d seen from Steven Berghuis in Ajax’s top clash with PSV. Not the 1-3 defeat as a whole, not the gulf in quality that opened up after the break – but that one moment in the first half when the Amsterdam side still had the game in their hands.
Berghuis, the seasoned left foot, the man you usually trust in tight spaces, stood over a gilt‑edged chance with the score at 1-1. He dragged it wide.
On Vandaag Inside, Van der Gijp’s frustration was obvious.
“What disappointed me so much. That can happen, I know. Anything can happen. That Berghuis didn't put that ball away. That disappoints me. With such a good strike with his left foot,” he said, still stunned that the Ajax forward had wasted the 30th‑minute opportunity.
He pushed the point even harder.
“I think if he takes 20 penalties, he scores all 20. And this one you put wide, man. Come on, man!”
The miss hung over the rest of Ajax’s evening. PSV didn’t let them off the hook. The visitors tightened their grip on the match and eventually pulled clear, sealing a 1-3 win in Amsterdam. A superb strike from recent signing Lutsharel Geertruida underlined the difference in ruthlessness between the two sides.
While Van der Gijp zoomed in on Berghuis’s lapse, Valentijn Driessen turned his fire on the Ajax dugout. For De Telegraaf’s football editor, coach Míchel got the big decisions wrong.
He could not understand why Tolu Arokodare was withdrawn after just an hour, especially with the forward performing reasonably well in a high‑intensity game. Even more baffling to him: the absence of Abdellah Ouazane from the starting XI against PSV.
“The very best player he has, Ouazane, wasn't in the team. And he forms a very good partnership with that Brandt. And he takes Tolu off, even though he was playing quite well. And then Míchel has a stroke of genius with two strikers who haven't touched a ball all year,” Driessen said, pointedly, as he referenced the introduction of Kasper Dolberg and Marcos Leonardo.
For Driessen, it didn’t stop there. The defensive setup also came under heavy scrutiny. Starting Gaaei at right-back against Van Bommel raised yet another red flag.
“And then Gaaei, who can't defend, plays at right-back against Van Bommel. And then he has another defender on the bench. What are you supposed to do with these kinds of coaches?” he asked, exasperated.
One glaring miss, a clinical PSV response, and a string of contested coaching calls: on nights like this, Ajax don’t just lose points. They invite a full-scale inquest into where, and with whom, this project is actually heading.
