Ajax Is Getting Worse, Brighton Heats Group B Competition

Brighton and Hove Albion celebrated their goal against Ajax Amsterdam in the Europa League. (Twitter @OfficialBHAFC)

JAKARTA - Brighton and Hove Albion are heating up their Europa League Group B competition after beating Ajax Amsterdam 2-0 at the Amex Stadium, Friday, October 27 in the morning WIB. Brighton's victory made Ajax even worse.

What's wrong with Ajax? The Dutch Eredivisie giant slumped after being abandoned by manager Erik ten Hag who moved to Manchester United earlier this season.

In the domestic competition, Ajax is ranked 17th and is in the relegation zone. It is ironic that the four European champions who have always given birth to this great player must compete in the lower division or the Eerste Divisie.

Not only in the Dutch league, Ajax also failed to show their best performance when navigating the Europa League. In their last match against Brighton, they must recognize the advantage of the hosts.

The defeat made Ajax, who is currently being handled by caretaker coach Hedwiges Maduro, to the bottom of Group B. They only have two points.

Meanwhile, Brighton, who won the first victory in the Europa League, is still in third place. However, The Seagulls have pocketed four points. The same as AEK Aethians who are in second place, but they are ahead on goal difference.

At the top of the standings, Marseille defeated Athlens 3-1. The victory earned Marseille five points.

With a tight point, Brighton also helped heat up the competition for tickets to the next round.

Brighton himself showed the best performance at home to Ajax. The 2-1 defeat to Manchester City in the English Premier League did not affect the confidence of the players in competing in European competitions.

Moreover, they want to win first to open up Brighton's chances in the Europa League. As a result, striker Joao Pedro successfully broke into Ajax's goal in the 42nd minute.

The goal started with the Japanese national team winger totaling Mitoma who outwitted goalkeeper Diant Ramaj and then gave the ball to Pedro. The Brazilian forward did not waste a chance to score.

Furthermore, front player Ansu Fati solidified Brighton's lead when the second half had only lasted a few minutes. The Spanish national team player on loan from Barcelona finished well with Simon Adingra's accurate pass in the 53rd minute.

The score of 2-0 for Brighton lasted until the end of the match. Despite winning, Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi actually showed his satisfaction with the team's strong defense.

According to him, the goal's success remains a clean sheet as Brighton's valuable capital when they return to compete in domestic competitions.

"We showed an incredible game. We played very well and deserved to win. We should also have scored more goals," said De Zerbi.

"But most importantly, we didn't concede. We can maintain a clean sheet. This is important because we will face a big game [against Fulham] this weekend," he said again.