El Ahmadi is blunt: ‘I now understand why he failed in the Premier League’

Ajax went into the break 1-0 up against AZ on Saturday evening, but ESPN's pundits had little praise for them. Arnold Bruggink and Karim El Ahmadi were particularly struck by their lack of intensity without the ball. El Ahmadi was especially critical of Tolu Arokodare, who had headed the Amsterdam side into the lead.

At the Johan Cruyff ArenA, Ajax made an excellent start and took the lead after just nine minutes. Tolu headed in a cross from Abdellah Ouazane, but AZ then began to see more and 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 admired the build-up to the opener. A piece of individual skill from Ouazane pulled AZ out of shape and gave Julian Brandt space. "Only then is there movement, and it really starts with one very simple action. But I have to say, in all honesty, that was about the only thing Ajax did on the ball in the first half."

Ajax's level then dropped sharply. El Ahmadi singled out their pressing. "You're playing at home, and I think the energy with which they press is inadequate," said the former midfielder. He pointed to Jorthy Mokio, who he felt had been drawn out of position because his team-mates were not putting enough pressure on the ball.

"Mokio really needs to hold his position, 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 analysed. Brandt and Tolu also came in for criticism: "I don't know if Brandt was injured early on, but he's been doing this for several matches, and the same goes for Tolu."

After Brandt was forced off in the 38th minute and Oscar Gloukh replaced him, El Ahmadi feared the pressing would only get worse. "With Gloukh and Tolu, I think it will only get worse," he said. The former international then drew a comparison 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 over Ajax's intensity. "Modern football is about sprinting. That's what it comes down to, and Ajax simply don't do it at all without the ball," said the pundit, who felt AZ should have made much better use of the space they were given. "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 did 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 immediately," said the pundit, who also pointed to the lack of competition for the striker.