Sánchez was in the starting line-up against Excelsior for his first time in the Eredivisie. He immediately added lustre to his starting debut in the league with his first goal for Ajax. Goalkeeper Stijn van Gassel initially struggled with a hard effort from Berghuis. He was only able to box the ball away, after which Sánchez had the chance to slide in the 1-0. And the Mexican did so with verve.
In the first 20 minutes, it looked like a shooting gallery in the Johan Cruijff ArenA. Van Gassel had to intervene several times to prevent the score becoming 2-0. The momentum seemed to shift to the Rotterdam players after about 25 minutes. But after several chances in succession for the visitors, Ajax took full control again. That was rewarded by Steven Berghuis bringing the scoreline to 2-0. Still before half-time, Ajax also made it 3-0 through Brobbey.
In the second half, Ajax continued attacking merrily. With a lot of skill, Excelsior still held on at first. But before an hour had been played, Brobbey managed to hit the mark. Thus the striker scored his second goal of the evening. The striker also played an important part in the 5-0 scoreline immediately. Goalkeeper Van Gassel was still able to save Brobbey's header, but was unable to stop Tadic's rebound.
Ajax kept chasing goals and got what they deserved. After Tadic was substituted, Bergwijn took over his place on the left wing. His first action from that side was an instant hit: 6-0.
But the party was not over yet. Kudus also got playing minutes and fired in the 7-0 after a good collaboration with Edson Álvarez. Agrafiotis headed in another to make it 7-1, sparing the blushes for the visitors.
Ajax - Excelsior 7-1 (3-0)
15. Sánchez 1-0
26. Berghuis 2-0
44. Brobbey 3-0
59. Brobbey 4-0
64. Tadic 5-0
75. Bergwijn 6-0
81. Kudus 7-0
90+1. Agrafiotis 7-1
Ajax: Pasveer; Sánchez (78. Baas), Timber, Blind (46. Wijndal), Bassey; Álvarez, Berghuis (74. Kudus), Klaassen; Bergwijn, Brobbey (84. Lucca), Tadic (74. Conceição)
