Mohammed Kudus came off the bench to score Ajax’s seventh goal in a 7-1 win over Excelsior in the Eredivisie on Sunday.
Kudus came on in the 75th minute, after Ajax had already gone up 5-0, thanks to goals from Jorge Sanchez, Steven Berghuis, Brian Brobbey (two), and Dusan Tadic, and with Steven Bergwijn making it 6-0 just a minute after his introduction, the Ghanaian midfielder got in on the act eight minutes from time.
After the ball broke to him in the area following a brilliant one-two with Bergwijn, the 22-year-old fired the rebound into the bottom left corner.
While Kudus made an impact off the bench, Calvin Bassey was part of a steady backline, having started at left-back after Ajax coach Alfred Schreuder switched Daley Blind to centre-back.
Kudus returned to the scoresheet after failing to find the net in Ajax’s 4-2 league win over Volendam last weekend, as well as Wednesday’s 4-2 Champions League loss to Napoli.
Meanwhile, Bassey hardly put a foot wrong as Ajax scored after 15 minutes and raced to a 3-0 half-time advantage.
Unlike in Naples, when they were continually under siege, Ajax’s defence was seldom challenged on Sunday, despite conceding a 90th-minute consolation for the visitors due to a lack in focus.
It was the Dutch champions’ largest triumph under Schreuder, as they responded ruthlessly to their setback to Napoli, which had placed them on the verge of elimination from the Champions League.
Ajax returned to the top of the Eredivisie league with 25 points, one point ahead of fierce rivals PSV Eindhoven, after AZ Alkmaar, who started the weekend top of the table, lost 3-1 against Feyenoord on Sunday.
Both Bassey and Kudus came into the game under fire for different reasons, with the Nigerian defender facing criticism after Ajax’s big defeats to Napoli in both meetings, while the Ghanaian had failed to score in two straight games.
They both responded superbly at the Johan Cruyff Arena, as Ajax returned happiness to their fans following the terrible display in Europe.
Kudus has been a victim of his own success this season, having set the bar high, and he has proven that he is still one of Ajax’s primary guys. He needed only seven minutes after coming on to score his eighth goal of the season, a career high since joining the Dutch giants.
