European football: Ajax’s season hits new low after 6-0 Feyenoord thrashing
Ajax’s disastrous season hit a new low on Sunday when they suffered a humiliating 6-0 defeat to bitter rivals Feyenoord in Rotterdam, their largest ever loss in De Klassieker and the joint-fifth biggest defeat in the club’s history.
Ajax have been hit by issues on and off the pitch this campaign but while they were depleted by injury, few would have foreseen their capitulation as they managed one shot at goal compared to 30 for their hosts at De Kuip. Igor Paixao and Yankuba Minteh grabbed a brace each for the home side to go with goals for David Hancko and Quinten Timber, who made his Netherlands debut last month.
“It was tough, bad,” the Ajax coach, John van ‘t Schip, told ESPN. “We were inferior on all fronts – physically, on the ball. Feyenoord were much stronger in terms of intensity from minute one. We didn’t get into the game. This is a blow that we all have to accept.”
The win consolidates second place for Feyenoord, who have 69 points from 29 games, nine points behind leaders
PSV Eindhoven. Ajax are in sixth with 45 points from 29 matches. They have not finished lower than third since the 2005-06 season. Ajax’s previous biggest losses to Feyenoord were a 9-4 defeat in 1964 and a 6-1 in 1960. The biggest defeat in the club’s history is a 9-1 loss to Dordrecht in 1913.
It was more bad news for the Netherlands’ most successful club after they suspended new CEO Alex Kroes with immediate effect on Tuesday on suspicion that he had been involved in insider trading in the club’s shares.
Fenerbahce’s players walked off the pitch after one minute of the Turkish Super Cup match against Galatasaray, forcing the game to be abandoned and
conceding the trophy.
Fenerbahce, who fielded their Under-19 team, withdrew from the rearranged match in Sanliurfa after the Galatasaray striker Mauro Icardi scored.
Media reported the club had requested the game be postponed ahead of their Europa Conference League quarter-final, first leg at Olympiakos on Thursday but were turned down.
Federico Gatti got the only goal as Juventus edged out Fiorentina 1-0 to strengthen their grip on third place in Serie A. The Turin side ended a run of four league games without a win thanks to Gatti’s 21st-minute strike to close to within six points of secondplaced Milan.
Napoli scored four goals in the space of 13 second-half minutes as they came from behind to win 4-2 at Monza. Milan Djuric had put the hosts in front but Victor Osimhen levelled 10 minutes into the second half, with Matteo Politano and Piotr Zielinski making it 3-1 by the 61st minute. Andrea Colpani got one back for the hosts but Giacomo Raspadori made sure of Napoli’s win.
Nicolas Viola’s 88th minute winner moved Cagliari four points clear of the drop zone as they came from behind to beat Atalanta 2-1, with Tommaso Augello cancelling out Gianluca Scamacca’s opener.
Monaco extended their unbeaten run in Ligue 1 to six games with a 1-0 win over Rennes at the Stade Louis II, when both teams had a player sent off and the home side moved back into third place thanks to Maghnes Akliouche’s goal.
Monaco have 52 points, one behind
Brest whose 4-3 win over Metz earlier on Sunday closed the gap on leaders Paris St Germain to 10 points after the top side were held to a 1-1 draw by bottom club Clermont on Saturday.