The Media Review: Ajax (A)

The landmarks in Albion history keep coming these days and the members of the media rose to the occasion again in Amsterdam as Roberto De Zerbi’s men recorded their first away win in European competition.

Matt Barlow of The Daily Mail put the 2-0 victory over Ajax into context as well as anyone, “Ajax may not be the Dutch masters they were but Brighton conquered them for the second time in a fortnight to record arguably the finest result in their history. 

“Ansu Fati led the way with a sparkling display, scoring the first and making the second for Simon Adingra to leave Roberto De Zerbi’s team with seven points and two games still to play in Group B.

“John Van t’Schip’s team gifted their visitors the opener when Silvano Vos telegraphed a pass in his own half and Adingra intercepted. Joao Pedro spun away to make the space and Fati dashed into it, collected Adingra’s pass and slid an accurate finish past goalkeeper Diant Ramaj.

“The four times European champions slipped further behind. This time Fati was creator with a jinking run to drag the Ajax defence out of shape and a simple pass to Adingra, coming in from the right to clip a shot past Ramaj as the ‘keeper came sliding out.

“Brighton survived a strong finish by the Dutch to complete a win they will remember for many years in Sussex by the sea.

Tom Roddy of The Times took a similar line, “Under the closed roof of the Amsterdam ArenA, another entry into Brighton & Hove Albion’s increasingly bursting file of historic nights was complete. 

“This may not have been the Ajax of old, of Cruyff and Kluivert, Bergkamp or van Basten, Davids or De Boer, but Roberto De Zerbi’s team managed another mighty victory over those European heavyweights; one which will live long in the memory but immediately lift expectations of advancing to the knockout stages of the Europa League.

“Remarkably, Ajax are the only team Brighton have beaten, with two victories in nine matches in all competitions, with goals from the excellent Ansu Fati and Simon Adingra, that leave the Dutch club bottom of group B and, at least temporarily, send De Zerbi’s side top after four games. The knockouts are now in sight.

“So, too, is an increasingly worrying injury list. James Milner, Lewis Dunk and Pervis Estupiñán were all forced off, with the latter having only been in action for 12 minutes after returning from the medical table; a blot on an otherwise excellent night again for Brighton against this famous Dutch opposition.”

Needless to say, The Mirror’s Mike Walters found a unique way into his report while still making clear the magnitude of Albion’s achievement. “Roberto De Zerbi unveiled the finest masterpiece in Amsterdam since Vincent Van Gogh’s fixation with sunflowers,” he wrote.

“As a statement of Brighton’s growing stature, home-and-away wins against Ajax – once the cream of Europe’s elite and still an enviable fountain of young talent – is out of this world.

“Albion fans have long been spellbound by coach De Zerbi’s magic, but when he reached into his top hat here, he produced arguably the greatest result in the club’s history.

“For context, when Ajax won the last of their four European Cups in 1995, the Seagulls were homeless, penniless and heading for oblivion. But look at them now – gilded, stylish and flying in Europe.

“And in the cradle of Total Football where, in De Zerbi’s words, Ajax “taught everyone else how to play” the beautiful game, Albion’s first-half composure was an art form in itself.”

Sam Dalling of The Daily Telegraph also looked at the game from a historical perspective, but a slightly different one. “History tells of an almost inextricable link between Barcelona and Ajax,” he wrote. “Many great names – the likes of Patrick Kluivert, the De Boers, Michael Laudrup, Zlatan Ibrahimovic – have sported two of European football’s most recognisable shirts.

“Yet here, at the Arena honouring the late Johan Cruyff, it was a new relationship, one between Barcelona and Brighton, that cut open more Ajax wounds. A goal, an assist and a generally glittering 65 minutes from Nou Camp loanee Ansu Fati helped Brighton ease past the four-time European Champions.

“How Ajax have fallen. How Brighton have ascended. Ships passing in the night, one with a crew desperately bucketing water overboard, the other fitting turbo engines.

“Fati receiving the ball is a catalyst for two things. First, defensive minds cloud. Doubt, bordering on panic, sets in. Should I stay or should I go? Both options can result in embarrassment. Up in the stands, supporters shift forward with excitement. Fati is what football should be – a reason to keep turning up, a player to purr over.

“One of the game’s gliders, what Fati does is both beautifully simple and simply beautiful. There is little by way of over exaggeration. A drop of the shoulder here, a roll of his marker there. That was the case for both of his major contributions on a roof-closed night in Amsterdam.

“As Fati trotted off, he received the deserved applause of the travelling Brighton supporters. Another extraordinary night, for an extraordinary club.

Jack Rosser of The Sun referenced some of the attractions of Amsterdam away from the Johann Cruyff Arena, writing, “Brighton played out their wildest dreams in the city of sin – taking a huge stride towards knockout European football on one of the club’s greatest nights.

“Ansu Fati and Simon Adingra scored either side of half-time to seal back-to-back wins over Euro greats Ajax – something no Seagulls fan could have dreamt up just a year ago, regardless of what they had been smoking.

“Fati departed with a goal and an assist from an hour’s work as Brighton began rotating and resting, just to make this evening all the more surreal for their travelling fans.

“With the Seagulls struggling to cope with the extra burden of Europa League football back home, they are five without a win in the Premier League, more walking wounded is the last thing they need.

“But that was a problem for the morning, the Brighton fans in Amsterdam had some serious celebrating to do – this was a night to toast and the perfect city to do it in.”

On the TNT Sport website, Aaron Barton thought that “the best word to describe Brighton’s performance tonight is ‘accomplished’. From start to finish, with and without the ball they looked like a team who had 10+ European campaigns under their belt. The reality is, they are learning on the job each time they set foot onto the grass in European competition. Tonight is a historic one for the club as it marks Brighton’s first ever European away win and what a place to get it in.

“Ansu Fati, the 21-year-old Barcelona loanee was sensational. He was at the heart of everything good that his side did in attack, getting on the ball in tight spaces and playing forward into dangerous areas. He misplaced just one (1!) pass all evening, completing 26 of his 27, with one of those passes being the assist for Simon Adingra’s goal. It was Fati who opened the scoring, taking an excellent first touch to give himself room to shoot before calmly finishing past Ramaj. A thoroughly impressive European performance from a top talent.”