ZWOLLE. Ajax defeats PEC Zwolle 3-1. Ajax got an early 2-0 lead with 2 goals from Kristian Hlynsson (12′) and Chuba Akpom (24′). PEC Zwolle tried to recover with a goal from Filip Krastev (72′). However, the match was closed by a goal (84′) scored by Chuba Akpom for Ajax.

The match was played at the MAC³PARK Stadion stadium in Zwolle on Sunday and it started at 12:15 pm local time. The referee was Jeroen Manschot who was helped by Mario Diks and Franca Overtoom. The 4th official was Nick Smit. The weather was overcast clouds. The temperature was pleasant at 15.41 degrees Celsius or 59.74 Fahrenheit. The humidity was 67%.​

Match Statistics​

Ball possession

None of the teams had a clear upper hand in terms of ball possession. PEC Zwolle was in possession of the ball for 53% of the time vs. Ajax that controlled the ball for 47% of the time.

Attitude and shots

Ajax was putting more pressure with 35 dangerous attacks and 9 shots of which 5 were on target. This is one of the reasons why Ajax won the contest.​

PEC Zwolle shot 13 times, 4 on target, 5 off target. Regarding the opposition, Ajax shot 9 times, 5 on target, 1 off target.

Cards

PEC Zwolle received 4 yellow cards (Tolis Vellios, A. MacNulty, Thomas Lam and Odysseus Velanas). On the other side, Ajax received 2 yellow cards (S. Vos and S. Mannsverk).

Standings

After this match, PEC Zwolle stays with 28 points to hold in the 13th place. On the other side, Ajax will has 44 points to hold in the 5th place.

Next matches

In the next match in the Eredivisie, PEC Zwolle will play away against FC Utrecht on the 3rd of April with a 11-5 head to head statistic in favor of FC Utrecht (10 draws).

Ajax will host Go Ahead Eagles on the 3rd of April with a 9-2 head to head record in favor of Ajax (3 draws).

PEC Zwolle – Formation

PEC Zwolle started with a 4-2-3-1 line-up (4-2-3-1).

The manager Johnny Jansen decided to play with the following team: Jasper Schendelaar (6.4), Bram van Polen (6.4), Sam Kersten (6.6), Thomas Lam (7.5), A. MacNulty (6.3), Anouar El Azzouzi  (6.4), Davy van den Berg (6.4), Younes Namli (7.9), Odysseus Velanas (6.4), Eliano Reijnders (6.4) and Lennart Thy (6.7).

The home team had on the bench: Silvester van der Water (7.0), Kenneth Vermeer , Filip Krastev (7.5), Tolis Vellios (6.4), Anthony Fontana, Lennart Czyborra (6.4), Damian van der Haar, Mohamed Oukhattou, Teun Gijselhart and Mike Hauptmeijer.

Substitutions

PEC Zwolle made 4 changes: Odysseus Velanas for Silvester van der Water (68′), Eliano Reijnders for Filip Krastev (67′), Anouar El Azzouzi  for Tolis Vellios (67′) and A. MacNulty for Lennart Czyborra (87′).

Player of the match: Younes Namli​

As per our analysis, the most impressive player for PEC Zwolle was Younes Namli.

His rating is 7.9 with 64 passes (89% accurate) and 3 key passes. He won 2 duels out of 4. He performed 5 crosses.

Ajax – Formation

Ajax started with a 3-4-2-1 line-up (3-4-2-1).

John van ‘t Schip played with: Jordan Henderson, J. Medić, Diant Ramaj (7.0), D. Rensch (7.3), S. Mannsverk (6.7), J. Hato (7.0), Kristian Hlynsson (8.2), Benjamin Tahirovic (7.5), Branco van den Boomen (7.5), K. Taylor (7.0) and M. Godts (7.5), Steven Bergwijn  (6.8), Chuba Akpom (8.4).

These were the players on the bench: A. Gaaei (7.3), Borna Sosa (6.6), Gerónimo Rulli, Carlos Forbs, J. Rijkhoff (6.8), Remko Pasveer, S. Vos (6.8), Kian Fitz-Jim and T. Gooijer.

Ajax could not rely on the presence of J. Rijkhoff (injured).

Substitutions

Ajax made 4 changes: M. Godts for A. Gaaei (65′), Steven Bergwijn  for Borna Sosa (81′), Branco van den Boomen for S. Vos (81′) and Chuba Akpom for J. Rijkhoff (86′).

Player of the match: Chuba Akpom​

The player that probably impressed the most for Ajax was Chuba Akpom.

His rating is 8.4 with 2 goals, 16 passes (63% accurate) and 0 key passes. He won 7 duels out of 20.

Results of the day

These are the results of the day in the Eredivisie.​

• FC Twente – Heracles Almelo – 1-0
• Almere City – FC Volendam – 1-1
• Feyenoord – FC Utrecht – 4-2
• PEC Zwolle – Ajax – 1-3