No Erik ten Hag. No Lisandro Martinez. No Antony. No Problem. Four time winners of the European Cup Ajax lit up the Johan Cruyff Arena with a thumping 4-0 win over Rangers, who returned to the Champions League group stage for the first time in 12 years.
The Scottish side, coming off the back of a 4-0 Old Firm defeat, struggled to cope with a vibrant Ajax attack that tore Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team apart. But this occasion was monumental for the Scottish side despite the result.
Ally McCoist spoke of the journey this club has been on over those twelve years. They had no license to play one pre-season and they have fought through the divisions against teams like Elgin, Peterhead and Berwick dreaming of this day. Now they have finally arrived back amongst Europe’s elite.
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But their welcome back onto the big stage was brutal and unforgiving. Ten Hag has been replaced by Alfred Schreuder and this is a club that continues to reinvent itself, even when their best players are consistently poached for mega-money by European giants. But that doesn’t mean Ajax aren’t European giants in their own right.
Calvin Bassey is the latest example of this smart recruitment. Martinez may have joined up with his old manager at Old Trafford, but in his place Bassey - signed from Rangers for £20m - has stepped up to the plate alongside Jurrien Timber. Antony may have departed for Manchester but the incredibly talented Mohammed Kudus, who scored a wondergoal tonight, remains. They just have a knack of reinventing themselves every summer, against all the odds.
The hosts struck first in Amsterdam as Edson Alvarez headed home from a corner with the Mexican left unmarked from six yards out to head home. It was simple. Four Rangers players failed to get off the ground while Conor Goldson seemingly ducked out of the way of the incoming cross. Bizarre.
It’s been an Achilles' Heel for Rangers in their recent past and they had a warning sign when Timber could have opened the scoring from a similar scenario but again they didn’t learn their lesson. Van Bronckhorst’s team were at sixes and sevens as Ajax passed their way through but couldn’t find the final ball for a simple finish.
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They would deservedly double their lead with a huge slice of fortune as wave after wave of Ajax attack eventually saw Steven Berghuis take a tame shot that was deflected past Jon McLaughlin. If the second was fortunate, the third was simply superb. Kudus, another star that was linked with a move away this summer, produced an individual effort right out of the top drawer.
He jinked down the left channel before unleashing an almighty strike in off the upright, past the despairing dive of the Scottish keeper. For only the second time in their history, they had conceded three goals in the first half of a Champions League match and it was a showing that clearly infuriated the boss.
There was a triple half-time change for Rangers as captain James Tavernier went off injured and there was a slight uplift in the performance in the second half. Borja Barisic thundered a strike into the top corner but VAR ruled it out after Ryan Kent was ruled offside as a newly-shaped back five managed to cope with the Dutch threat.
In truth, the game was already lost and Rangers handed Ajax a fourth goal. Ryan Jack inexplicably sent Steven Bergwijn through and he rounded the goalkeeper to add some gloss to the scoreline. Ajax made it five wins from five against the Gers while van Bronckhorst’s UCL record now reads played seven, lost six, won one.
On an occasion to remember, it was a performance to forget for Rangers, as the Ajax factory continues to produce gems.
