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sport">In Leeuwarden, the Ajax coach praised the youthful midfielder, who in his eyes had played an almost perfect match. Gravenberch played in the absence of the sick Edson Alvarez in the number six position and did so to the great satisfaction of Ten Hag. “I think he played fantastic. He fulfilled that role extremely well. A ten with a stylus. He played very task consciously, was continuously available, guarded the remaining defense well, steamed through a few times, the final passing was good twice and in the end he also scores the winning goal. It couldn’t get any better really.”
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number six
sport">Ten Hag thinks that the number six position suits Gravenberch very well. ,,His strength is mainly in that first build-up phase. He is often easy to play, is calm on the ball and often makes the right choices when putting players in position, who must ensure the offensive return. But he also has the dynamism and speed to push through and give the right pass. But he also knows how to keep a good position on the defensive side, to win duels and to intercept balls.”
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Erik ten Hag had a second half with headaches against Cambuur, but in the end he could breathe a sigh of relief.
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sport">Ten Hag was very annoyed in Leeuwarden about the way his team had presented itself after the break. ,,We have been good at shooting ourselves in the foot in recent weeks. By handing over games that we have total control and control through serious individual mistakes. We will have to work on that responsibility and demand more from each other. If players don’t take their individual responsibility, matches can turn.”
nice series
sport">The Ajax-trainer had seen that Ajax had initially presented itself very convincingly and that there was nothing in the air. ,,We have been working on a great series since January. We are exactly where we want to be, often with good football. Like last week against RKC in the first half, but certainly also in this match before halftime. I have seen an exceptionally good Ajax. It was 0-0 at halftime, but that was a meager reflection of the proportions. It should have been 3-0 or 4-0 or maybe 4-1, because Cambuur also had a chance via Tom Boere. After the break we first give away an unnecessary corner and then we make incomprehensible mistakes, making it 1-2. Such a moment can change a match. And then another incomprehensible mistake that makes it 2-2. But the team manages to turn their backs afterwards. Then you see that there is character in the team. That’s why I get on the bus with a positive feeling. We will have to rectify a number of things, but the winning mentality of this team is clear.”
Crucial week
sport">That is why Ten Hag will go into the upcoming top week with a good feeling on Tuesday with the return in the eighth final of the Champions League against Benfica and the Classic against Feyenoord on Sunday. ,,We play good football, but we have to hold on for 95 minutes. If you make these kinds of mistakes you won’t get the result you need and a match can turn. If we reach our own level, we have a good chance,” said Ten Hag, who is happy that Noussair Mazraoui, Jurriën Timber and Brian Brobbey were able to make their comeback after injuries. ,,I’m glad we were able to give them all playing time. At first glance, they all got through it well.”
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Brian Brobbey was allowed to make some minutes in Ajax 1 after a few weeks of injury.
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Gravenberch
sport">Gravenberch himself looked back twice on the game, in which he played in the position of the sick midfielder Edson Álvarez. “It went well, but I’ve been playing left midfield all my life. I think that is my preference,” the 19-year-old Amsterdammer told ESPN.
sport">Last week Ajax lost a 2-0 lead against RKC and now against Cambuur again. “We played a very good first half,” said Gravenberch. “But we lost a bit of focus in the second half. We will have a ‘meeting’ about this on Saturday before the training. But in the end we also won. Last week against RKC it was a bit of drama, now actually. But we do get three points.”
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