livescore

Schreuder admits Ajax have a mountain to climb in the Champions League

Published:
PA Sport staffPA Sport staff
Alfred Schreuder has plenty to ponder after last night
Alfred Schreuder has plenty to ponder after last night

Things continued to go from bad to worse in the second half as Raspadori, Khvixha Kvaratskheila and Giovanni Simeone added to the tally to compound Ajax's misery.  And Schreuder admits the fallen Dutch giants simply cannot compete with Luciano Spalletti's side and Liverpool, who currently sit first and second respectively in Group A, leaving Ajax facing a shootout with Rangers to drop into the Europa League by securing third place.  He said: "If you look at Napoli and Liverpool you will see they are a size too big for us. That is obvious.  "I don’t think we are good enough as a team at the moment." Ajax hammered Rangers 4-0 in their opening Champions League game last month but were brought back down to earth by a 2-1 defeat at out-of-sorts Liverpool.  And with their dominance in the Eredivisie also being tested by league leaders AZ Alkmaar, Schreuder is struggling to live up to the standards set by predecessor Erik ten Hag.  Ajax return to league action at FC Volendam on Saturday before heading to Naples for Wednesday's rematch with Spaletti's men.  But Schreuder is not confident about his team's chances of transforming their fortunes in Europe.  The Dutcman, 49, added: "If you’re realistic, it gets harder and harder [to get out of the group]. We have to win there next week.  "We will have to take a different approach because this is unworthy of Ajax. This is unacceptable. This is unworthy of Ajax." Napoli scored six goals in European competition for the first time last night, becoming the first Italian side to do so in a Champions League away match.  They are also the first Italian team score six or more goals in any Champions League game since Juventus beat Olympiacos 7-0 in the group stage in December 2003.  Ajax conceded six goals for the first time in any European match. They are without a home win against a side from Italy in Europe in their last 12 such matches (drawn six and lost six). Napoli have picked up maximum points from their first three Champions League group stage matches in a single season for the first time in the competition. They have never scored as many goals (13) or conceded fewer (two) after three group games. Napoli have scored 13 goals in three Champions League fixtures this season — four more than any other side in the competition. Ajax ace Kudus has scored in each of his three Champions League appearances this season. Alfred Schreuder has all but written off Ajax's chances of progressing to the Champions League knockout phase after last night's 6-1 hammering at the hands of Napoli.  The Eredivisie champions were reduced to 10 men in the 73rd minute when Dusan Tadic was given his matching orders but they were already trailing 5-1 at the Johan Cruyff Arena at that point. Mohammed Kudus had opened the scoring for the hosts before goals from Giacomo Raspadori, Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Piotr Zielinski put Napoli in charge at the break.

News
Schreuder admits Ajax have a mountain to climb in the Champions League

About

LiveScore - Latest Football Scores, Results, Fixtures and Tables

The number one destination for real time scores for Football, Cricket, Tennis, Basketball and Hockey. LiveScore.com is the go-to destination for latest football scores and news from around the world.
Up to date tables, fixtures and scores from all the major leagues and competitions throughout the world live as they happen including the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Europe’s biggest competitions such as the Champions League and Europa League.
That’s not all because international tournaments such as the World Cup, Euros, AFCON, Copa America and Nations League are also at your fingertips. With match info and line-ups thrown into the mix, you need not look anywhere else for football statistics.

 

English | Nederlands | Português | Español | Български | คนไทย | Bahasa Indonesia

We improve our products and advertising by using Microsoft Clarity to see how you use our website. By using our site and accepting Analytics Cookies, you agree that we and Microsoft can collect and use this data. Our Privacy Policy has more details.