In Ajax's nine prior Eredivisie games this season, Godts started six times. But against the top team in the league, he began on the bench, a decision that ultimately proved to be a masterstroke. Within thirty minutes at the Johan Cruijff ArenA, Godts took advantage of the space he was given, capping off his performance with the winning goal, a highlight in an impressive display.
Just how effective Godts was against PSV can be seen in his match statistics provided by Opta. In thirty minutes, he completed five successful dribbles. To put that into perspective, over the past fourteen years, only two Ajax players have managed to pull off five successful dribbles as substitutes in the second half: Amin Younes (against Roda JC in 2016) and Mohammed Kudus (against Sparta in 2022). His heatmap also clearly shows where Godts made his impact, keeping PSV on edge across his attacking zone.
Godts’ decisive strike was one of nine touches he had in the penalty area—remarkable in just half an hour of play. Only Christian Rasmussen has managed to match that feat for Ajax recently. In the last ten years, Godts became the second Ajax substitute in the Eredivisie to register nine touches in the opposition box in 30 minutes or fewer. In September, Rasmussen achieved ten touches in the same timeframe against Fortuna Sittard.
