Sébastien Haller stars as Ajax blitz Sporting CP in stunning Champions League performance

Ajax put Sporting CP to the sword in their opening game of the Champions League group stages, coming out as 5-1 winners at the Estádio José Alvalade.

The hosts qualified for Europe’s top competition after winning their first league title in 19 years, ending the duopoly of FC Porto and SL Benfica in Portugal’s top flight. As a result, Rúben Amorim’s side returned to the Champions League group stages for the first time since 2017/18.

The Lisbon-based side were placed in Group C alongside Borussia Dortmund, Beşiktaş and Ajax, the latter of whom were the first team to make the trip to the Portuguese capital in this year’s competition. De Godenzonen were placed in pot three despite winning the Eredivisie title in convincing fashion last season, setting up a mouthwatering champion versus champion tie.

After an underwhelming performance in their 2-0 win at PEC Zwolle over the weekend, Erik ten Hag was desperate to see his side improve ahead of their first European game of the season. This was evident right from the off, with Ajax looking to assert their dominance as soon as the referee blew his whistle.

It took just 64 seconds for the visitors to take the lead, with Antony’s deflected shot bouncing off the post, allowing Sébastien Haller to head the rebound into an empty net. This was just the start of a historic night for the 27-year-old, who was finally given the chance to make his Champions League debut.

Goalkeeper Remko Pasveer was keen to keep his side playing on the front foot, launching a pinpoint long-ball to Antony on the right flank. The Brazilian winger sped in behind Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee Rúben Vinagre, squaring the ball to Haller for a simple tap-in to double Ajax’s lead.

The goalkeeper position at Ajax has come under scrutiny in recent months. The club opted against signing a replacement for André Onana, who continues to serve a suspension for his doping violation. As a result, Maarten Stekelenburg and Jay Gorter stepped into the first-team picture in his absence.

However, both were injured and unavailable to be named in the squad, forcing 37-year-old Pasveer to make only his second-ever Champions League appearance.

It was his error that allowed Sporting back into the game, as a mix up with Lisandro Martinez allowed Paulinho in to place his effort underneath the shot-stopper from a narrow-angle. This was the hosts’ first shot on target of the game and seemingly presented them the chance to mount a comeback in front of their expectant fans.

While an Ajax side of old may have crumbled under the subsequent pressure, ten Hag’s current squad went up another gear instead. Antony breezed past his man to set up Ryan Gravenberch in the middle of the park, with the youngster threading new arrival Steven Berghuis through on goal to restore Ajax’s two-goal advantage five minutes before half-time.

Haller went on to complete his hat-trick just six minutes after the break, once again dispatching a low cross from Antony to make it 4-1. He wasn’t satisfied with just three goals, however, picking up Noussair Mazraoui’s pass into the box to fire Ajax’s fifth goal of the night past a helpless Antonio Adán in the Sporting net.

This was exactly the performance that Haller needed, joining Marco van Basten as the only other player to score four goals on his Champions League debut.

The Ivory Coast international has struggled for form since moving from Frankfurt to West Ham in 2019. His subsequent return to the Eredivisie with Ajax hasn’t seen him produce the attacking returns that were expected of him, and the club’s fans have called for him to be dropped from the starting line-up.

This isn’t necessarily his fault. De Godenzonen aren’t used to playing with a target-man striker, and he doesn’t fit the club’s mantra in regards to their transfer business. Haller is in the prime of his career, and should theoretically be playing at the top of his game but this hasn’t been the case in the last three years.

Ajax fans don’t expect that level of performance on a weekly basis, especially in a division where their side can comfortably win league games without moving out of first gear. However, his increased presence up front could see the Dutch champions become a real threat on the continental stage.

Of course, Haller will take the plaudits for his astonishing Champions League debut but he was far from the only standout in the visitors’ team.

Antony was heavily criticised for his showing against Zwolle, with Ten Hag telling the press that “maybe he forgot how to play for Ajax on the plane back from Brazil”. His pace and dribbling proved impossible for Vinagre to handle, and his two assists were the least he deserved for his incredible performance on the right flank.

Davy Klaassen’s injury has been a colossal blow given his form for club and country, but it has presented Berghuis with a chance to play in a new central position. His controversial move from arch-rivals Feyenoord was a huge risk, but his link-up play with Gravenberch, Dusan Tadic and Antony is further evidence that it will pay off.

Ajax’s league and domestic cup performances are a formality at this stage, despite the increased pressure from PSV Eindhoven. Their results on the international scale are what the fans are focused on. The club has only progressed from the group stages once since 2006, and there is a genuine belief that they can replicate their run to the semi-finals from 2018/19.

While they might not get quite as deep into the tournament as they did that season, the expectation is for them to improve their status on the international stage. The four-time Champions League winners want to be a regular in the knockout stages of Europe’s top competition, and performances like that will go a long way to making that a reality.

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