The defeat in England now puts Ajax bottom of the group in the Europa League. Ajax are due to host the English team at the Johan Cruyff ArenA on 9 November. The away game against PSV is looming next Sunday.
In the English seaside town, Brighton & Hove Albion and Ajax locked each other in stalement for the first half hour. Ajax kept it tight and let the home team have the ball. At first they didn't know what to do when they had possession. Brighton managed no better than a few tense moments.
That all changed after half time. Joao Pedro had already put Ajax on notice with a powerful shot that went flying over Diant Ramaj's bar. The German goalkeeper had no chance once the Portuguese player got going. He easily hit the back of the net when a shot by Kaoru Mitoma rebounded. Brighton's goal was a downer for the Ajax team, who had kept up a strong defence up to that point.
The English home team had played better in the first half, so the lead was not entirely unjustified. In the second half, Ansu Fati strengthened their domination to 2-0. The Spaniard finished off neatly after a lovely pass through from Mitoma.
After that second goal from Brighton, Ajax had a go at making a comeback. After Carlos Forbs went on for Kristian Hlynsson, Steven Berghuis was posted to the right wing. The striker moved in from there and shot straight at the post. That's also as far as it went for the English side.
Brighton & Hove Albion - Ajax 2-0 (1-0)
42. João Pedro 1-0
53. Fati 2-0
Ajax: Ramaj; Gaaei, Šutalo, Hato, Sosa, Tahirovic (60. Van den Boomen), Taylor, Berghuis (60. Godts); Forbs (46. Hlynsson), Brobbey (75. Akpom), Bergwijn (75. Vos)
