After successfully overcoming Union Saint-Gilloise, Ajax will face either Olympique Lyon or Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Europa League Round of 16. The draw for the next round will take place on Friday at 13:00 CET.
The Amsterdam side advanced after a 0-2 victory in Brussels and a 1-2 loss in Amsterdam. Olympique Lyon and Eintracht Frankfurt bypassed the knockout round playoffs as they finished in the top eight of the Europa League’s League Phase.
The Round of 16 matches will be played on Thursday, 6 March, and Thursday, 13 March, with Ajax playing the first leg at home.
On Wednesday afternoon, Ajax trained at their own training complex, De Toekomst, in preparation for the match against Union Saint-Gilloise, braving the freezing conditions. Following the earlier press conference with Francesco Farioli and Davy Klaassen, the training session was open to the attending media for fifteen minutes.
Davy Klaassen reached the magical milestone of 100 goals for Ajax against Heracles. A few days after this achievement, Remko Pasveer and Steven Berghuis played a prank on the midfielder. After training, Klaassen returned to his car to find it filled with 100 footballs. "I didn't noticed it at all."
These are good weeks for Ajax, with the top spot in the Eredivisie and a strong position in the UEFA Europa League play-off round. However, both Francesco Farioli and Davy Klaassen remain cautious about excessive positivity and potential complacency. "Every day, we keep emphasizing that success doesn’t come automatically."