Farioli’s Fantastic Defence Fuels Ajax’s Trophy Aspirations

Ajax are charging towards the Eredivisie title with Francesco Farioli at the helm after finishing 5th last season. 

The new manager has transformed the team’s fortunes, particularly in defence. We assess their chances of continuing their tremendous run in the weeks to come. 

Odds courtesy of bet365. Correct at time of publishing and subject to change.

A Stark Contrast to Last Season

Ajax haven’t won the Dutch league since Erik Ten Hag was in charge. They finished 13 points off the pace in 2022/23 and a whopping 35 points off in the last campaign. However, they look set to regain their Eredivisie crown this term after a miraculous turnaround under Francesco Farioli. 

De Godenzonen are a club steeped in history. They are renowned for their ‘Total Football’ style of play, which sees the team aim to dominate possession and bamboozle their opponents with fluid movement of players all over the pitch. The current Ajax side are accustomed to having lots of the ball, they have also scored the second most goals in the Eredivisie with an average of 2.14 per game. However, it is their defensive improvement that has underpinned their success this season. 

Out of possession, Farioli likes his players to be aggressive and adopt a high press. He often utilises a man-to-man marking approach so his players need to prevent the opposition from turning and running directly at goal. The current Ajax team don’t drop too deep when their opponents have the ball and aim to force them into wide areas. This defensive approach has made them a tough nut to crack. 

Ajax boasts the best defensive record in the league. They are conceding an average of just 0.75 goals per game. In fact, they are the only team in the division who are conceding less than a goal per game. This is a far cry from last season, when the team wound up conceding an average of 1.79 goals per game, the seventh most in the Eredivisie. 

The lack of money spent in the transfer windows makes the turnaround even more impressive. The club have a profit of €56.61m in the past two windows. There have been some astute signings. Bertrand Traore was brought in for free and a cheap deal for Wout Weghorst has given the manager another option in attack. Daniele Rugani, the centre-back who is on loan from Juventus, has also contributed, but excellent coaching has been the driving force behind their success. 

Farioli will be hoping his team continue to defend superbly with the team looking to make it to the latter stages of the Europa League, as well as get the job done in the Eredivisie. 

Ajax Can Edge Past Eintracht Frankfurt

Ajax haven’t won a European trophy since 1996, when they lifted the Champions League with Louis Van Gaal in charge. They reached the Europa League Final in 2017, and they could be dark horses to win the competition this time around.

Farioli’s men have kept eight clean sheets in their last nine matches ahead of their showdown with Eintracht Frankfurt at the Johan Cruyff Arena on Thursday night. They have scored an average of two goals per European home game this season and conceded just 0.88. They needed extra time to get past Union Saint-Gilloise in the last round but Ajax played the majority of the game with 10 men. The bookmakers are having a hard time splitting Ajax and Frankfurt but the home side’s defensive record gives them the edge in the first leg. 

De Godenzonen’s next league outing is a trip to Zwolle. PEC rank as the sixth-lowest scoring team in the league, netting an average of 1.21 goals per game. They failed to score against Ajax in a 2-0 defeat earlier in the season. PEC Zwolle are averaging just 0.6 goals per game in their last five against Ajax so we are backing another clean sheet for the league leaders when these two square off at the weekend. 

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