Dutch giant Ajax fell to the bottom of the Eredivisie table on Sunday after they blew a half-time lead in a 5-2 defeat by PSV Eindhoven. The 36-time Dutch champions, who fired coach Maurice Steijn before they lost to Brighton in the Europa League, took a fifth consecutive defeat in the Dutch top flight for the first time in their history.
Ajax has witnessed a slow descent from grace since former coach Erik Ten Hag left for Manchester United in 2022, before coming undone this season.
“Ajax is now last in the Eredivisie with only five measly points,” said a statement on the Ajax supporters’ club website.
“That hurts a lot. Still, we can draw some strength from the first half in Eindhoven. The players showed that they can indeed play football.
“Hopefully, that will give us some confidence in the coming weeks, where Ajax will have to climb out of the depths.”
Branco van den Boomen gifted Ajax a perfect start in their first league match under interim boss Hedwiges Maduro before Brian Brobbey brought back their advantage after Hirving Lozano’s equaliser for PSV.
But the visitors were hacked to pieces in the second half at Philips Stadion, as goals from Luuk de Jong and Ismael Saibari placed the guests in front less than seven minutes after the resumption. Mexican international Lozano contributed two more goals to complete his hat-trick.
Ajax is now trail second-bottom Utrecht by two points, after gathering only five points from their first eight matches. Meanwhile, PSV is five points clear of AZ Alkmaar at the top after beginning the league season with 10 straight wins.
AZ’s game against Nijmegen ended in injury time after Nijmegen striker Bas Dost fell on the pitch and was carried off with a stretcher. Dost later regained consciousness and greeted the fans. Nijmegen were already leading the match 2-1, with Dost finding the net earlier in the game.
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