Mika Godts impresses and Remko Pasveer’s no look pass: What did we learn from Ajax’s opening day win over Robin van Persie’s Heerenveen | OneFootball

Ajax got off to a winning start in the Eredivisie on Sunday, although it was hardly a performance to write home about. The new look Ajax under Francesco Farioli faced a Heerenveen side that also had a new man in the dugout, Robin van Persie. It was the away side who started brightly and were happy to take the game to Ajax, but in the end their lack of quality in the final third meant they were unable to make the most of their chances. So what did we learn from the Amsterdam clubs opening game?

Mika Godts looks ready to make an impact this year

All of the threat Ajax had in the first half came from Godts. The former Genk man was getting in behind and causing the away sides defence all sort of problems. VAR had to intervene to keep Pawel Bochniewicz on the pitch, with the defender having been shown a red card for bringing Godts down after 10 minutes. In the end, the yellow card seemed a fair call. Godts got the assist for the only goal of the game from Kristian Hlynsson, and the 19-year-old Belgian looks like he is ready to play a major role for Ajax this season.

Remko Pasveer still has it?

Eyebrows were raised when it was announced that Farioli was going to go with 40-year-old Pasveer in goal. The keeper did well to make two saves, and even showed off his passing ability with a no-look pass in the second half. Whether in the long-term he will remain number one is to be seen, but it was a solid display from the veteran nonetheless.

Finishing needs some work

As the game began to stretch in the second half, Ajax were able to create more chances. However, they were also wasteful. Only four of their 12 shots were on target, with striker Chuba Akpom not able to manage a shot on goal during the game. Whether that was his fault or a lack of service is up for debate. Bertrand Traore looked lively off the bench but was guilty of squandering a chance that he should have taken to make it 2-0.

Farioli and the team will be happy to at least have gotten off to a winning start, but will know if they have any desire to challenge the top sides in the Eredivisie they will need to perform better than they did in the opening game.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson