Upon an emotional return to Amsterdam, Dusan Tadic started his first game since leaving Ajax in 2023. Tadic's NEC faced Ajax in Amsterdam, where the Nijmegen side last lost in 2023.
Ajax hunted a home win after a disappointing 2-2 draw against Excelsior before the international break, but missed crucial parts as left-back Caio Henrique, winger Steven Berghuis, and right-back Anton Gaaei were ruled out with injuries.
After a fireworks show honouring fan group F-Side's 50-year anniversary, Ajax treated the fans to a thunderous start when Tolu powerfully headed in a lofted cross from Jorthy Mokio to take the lead inside seven minutes.
The lead didn't last long, as Jorthy Mokio took down Noe Lebreton in the box and drew a penalty. Captain Tjaronn Chery stepped up and beat Marc ter Stegen, slotting the ball confidently into the side netting.
Mokio nearly made up for his mistake minutes later, firing at Gonzalo Crettaz's goal, but the Congolese midfielder's effort went inches too high and smashed off the crossbar.
Ajax had a quiet remainder of the first half, with only Oscar Gloukh and Tolu getting close to restoring their lead before half-time. In the second half, Gloukh found himself in space with a clever pass from Julian Brandt, but did nothing with the one-on-one as his chip lacked the speed to beat the Crettaz and NEC backline.
Gloukh eluded the NEC defence again soon after, but the winger missed the chance to lay it off to Tolu in front of goal and went for it himself, to no avail. Tolu saw through a short back pass shortly after, but Crettaz quickly got out of his box and swatted the one-on-one. Viktor Tsygankov picked up the ball and was fouled, but Brandt could not steer the free-kick on target.
It was a topsy-turvy second half in the Johan Cruyff ArenA, and NEC looked to have taken a surprise lead for a moment, but Chery’s brace was denied by an offside call.
Ajax manager Michel transformed the wings at the hour mark with a double substitution, which marked the Ajax debut of Sunderland loanee Simon Adingra. It nearly yielded a quick goal when fellow sub Abdellah Ouazane, fresh from his senior Morocco debut at age 17, forced a corner and saw compatriot Sofyan Amrabat try his luck.
Chances dried up following a fast start to the second half, and it was Dusan Tadic who had the biggest of them all - a bad clearance earned the Serb the chance to beat the out-of-position Ter Stegen from distance, but his long lob was short and caught up to by the German stopper.
Ouazane tried to create a moment of late magic with a daunting run down the left wing, but his shot went wide as injury time began. One more chance fell Ajax’s way, but with a clear sight of the NEC goal and deep in the box, Adingra’s shot fell to Crettaz.
Ajax fell short again at home, failing to beat NEC, with the Nijmegen side keeping the hosts on just one win from four home games this season. Both sides will look to return to winning ways next week, with Ajax kicking off their UEFA Conference League campaign away at Hajduk Split, while NEC host Levski Sofia on Thursday.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Noe Lebreton (NEC)
Check out the full match and player statistics on Flashscore