Youri Baas Explains Why Ajax Struggled Against FC Twente In Dramatic 2-2 Draw

Ajax only managed a draw against FC Twente in Enschede on Sunday afternoon. Tolu Arokodare put Ajax 1-0 ahead very early on, scoring his 13th goal of the season in all competitions for the Amsterdammers.  After scoring, Ajax struggled to put Twente under any kind of real pressure. They created very little and struggled to control the game for prolonged periods of time. John van den Brom's side had several chances to find an equaliser, and their high press made it very difficult for Ajax to play out from the back. Despite that, Ajax managed to double their lead thanks to an excellent goal from Rayane Bounida, who came on as a substitute and scored his first goal of the season. After Bounida's goal, Twente quickly pulled one back through an own goal from Ajax centre-back Dies Janse. Twente then continued to put Michel Sanchez's team under real pressure. Their hard work eventually paid off as Wout Weghorst converted a penalty in stoppage time to salvage a point for the Tukkers. Baas explains why Ajax struggled Youri Baas has started as the defensive midfielder for Ajax in the last two games, as Sofyan Amrabat did not travel to Denmark for the game against Midtjylland due to an injury, and he did not come on until after an hour against Twente. Speaking to NOS after the game, Baas explains why he believed Ajax struggled against Twente. "I didn't think we played a good game, so perhaps a win was too much. When you are 2-1 up in the last minute of the match, you hope to see it through," Baas explained. "There was a lot of energy at the beginning. We didn't really have control, not in the first half and certainly not in the second half. I didn't get the feeling that we were in control for the entire match. "I don't think it was our best match. Also, in terms of the game we want to play. Sure, we had chances, but I didn't think we were dominant. I missed the control, certainly in the second half. Then they come at us,s and we get pushed back a lot." FC Twente 2-2 Ajax: Five Things Learned As Ajax Drop Points After Late Goal From Wout Weghorst A penalty from Wout Weghorst meant Ajax had to settle for a point in Enschede. Ajax lacked fluidity Ajax lacked dynamism against Twente and struggled to progress the ball forward. Twente are a fantastic pressing team, and they proved that once again on Sunday afternoon, but Ajax could have done more to make it difficult for them. The build-up play against teams that press like Twente is something that Michel needs to improve, as Ajax will face more teams this season that look to press in man-to-man fashion, both in the Eredivisie and in the Conference League. When playing against teams like Twente who press aggressively and adopt a man-to-man approach, you need to have fluidity and positional rotations to play out of that press. Fluidity makes it significantly harder for the opposition to press, as it can disorganise them and drag players into positions they aren't comfortable in. Against Twente, Ajax did not do that enough, and they were too predictable.  Ajax should have opted to play more long balls as the game went on against Twente, instead of playing out from the back. Most top teams will try to play out of the press even against quality pressing teams, but at a certain point on Sunday, it was clear that Ajax were struggling and playing long balls towards Tolu was a safer option, and that would likely have been more effective, too.