Ajax suffers surprising defeat against Willem II

Erik Ten Hag's team, which made few changes in its usual starting lineup, was unable to react to the surprising advantage that their rival took before halftime.

Ajax dominated the match, but Willem II, third in the standings, took advantage of a counterattack to expose them. Che Nunnely was fouled while facing goalkeeper Andre Onana and the penalty was converted by Belgian Mike Tresor Ndayishimiye in the 42nd minute.

Ten Hag's team poured forward towards the visiting goal. They pinned Willem II down but lacked accuracy. The match was decided in the 78th minute when a pass from Vangelis Pavlidis was taken advantage of by Damil Dankerlui, who placed the ball out of Onana's reach.

Ajax, who will face Valencia on Tuesday in a decisive match for qualification to the Champions League Round of 16, lined up with Andre Onana, Sergino Dest, Joel Veltman, Daley Blind, Nicolás Tagliafico, Donny Van de Beek, Lisandro Martinez, Dusan Tadic, Hakim Ziyech, Noa Lang, and Klaas Jan Huntelaar.

Siem De Jong replaced Noa Lang in the 57th minute and three minutes later Noussair Mazraoui came on for Daley Blind. Ten minutes before the end, Lassina Franck Traore replaced Huntelaar.

Despite the defeat, their first in sixteen matches, Ajax still leads the competition with a six-point advantage over AZ Alkmaar, who will visit Zwolle on Saturday. Willem II, in third place, is twelve points behind the leaders.