After the match, Baas was mostly critical of Ajax’s performance. “I thought it was a poor game,” he admitted to ESPN. “We were very sloppy in possession. Conceding three goals is never good. This happens too often.”
According to Baas, the solution to Ajax’s struggles is still out of reach. “We go into every match trying to make it a better one than the week before. It’s not down to our approach. But today it just didn’t work out. Everyone is doing their absolute best to put in a good performance. But it’s still not clicking.”
The defender did play a key part in Ajax’s opening goal shortly before half-time. He spotted Mika Godts’ run at exactly the right moment and provided an excellent pass to the Belgian. “I told Mika at half-time: ‘that was the perfect moment to make the run’. They started marking one-on-one, with a midfielder stepping out. It worked perfectly.”
Just a few minutes later, however, the ball was placed on the spot for Sparta after a handball by Baas inside the area. There wasn’t much he could do, but after a VAR intervention referee Bas Nijhuis decided to award the penalty. “I honestly don’t understand it. I was coming in at full speed. The movement of my arm was natural. It was just very unfortunate.”
One positive from the match was Ajax’s resilience. After trailing 3-1, they still managed to draw level at 3-3. “We didn’t stop fighting. The spirit is definitely there. We keep battling until the end. And you see that we were still able to scrape a point.”
