Page 23 - Soccer360 Issue 104

2023-24
LEADING SCORERS
5 Goals
5 Goals
5 Goals
4 Goals
Evanlison
Porto
4 Goals
4 Goals
4 Goals
Rasmus Højlund
Manchester UTD.
Alvaro Morata
Atletico Madrid
Erling Haaland
Manchester City
Julian Alvarez
Manchester City.
Gabriel Jesus
Arsenal
Jude Bellingham
Real Madrid
Atletico’s striker Alvaro Morata celebrates after scoring the 5-0 goal during the UEFA Champions League soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Celtic Glasgow
‘THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
WILL STILL REMAIN THE BIGGEST CLUB COMPETITION ON THE PLANE
Ajax’s Marc Overmars was sacked back in February 2023
Rasmus Hojlund leads the way with 5 goals
Questions can also be asked as to whether this new format will really make every game matter, as UEFA suggests. Whereas the current group stage may make for games where teams are more afraid to lose than to go out for the win, there has seemed to be a change in recent seasons. The big clubs invariably go through in the end but there have been more upsets in individual games. This new model is supposed to ensure that all games will be of vital importance. But with the battle only being for clubs to finish in the top 24 of the league, will they really be busting a gut to go all out for victory in the opening games? It could mean that teams only need two or three wins from eight to progress. That suggests that the fixtures could be even more cautious than they are at the present time.
One of the familiar criticisms of UEFA is that it is only really interested in making sure that the big clubs make it through to the knockout stages and, as an organisation, it makes even more money. It is fair to say that those two criteria should definitely
DID YOU KNOW?
Rasmus Højlund has four goals
in his first four UEFA Champions League appearances for Manchester United, the joint-most by a player in his first four games played for the Red Devils in the competition, along with Dimitar Berbatov.
SOCCER360 21
AILING AJAX
JUST FIVE SEASONS AGO, AJAX NARROWLY MISSED OUT ON
A CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL. NOW THEY HAVE FALLEN AS FAR AS THE FOOT OF THE EREDIVISIE AND STRUGGLED IN THE EUROPA LEAGUE. DAN ROBERTS INVESTIGATES.
Ajax fans probably thought that last season was as bad as it could get. After Erik ten Hag left for Manchester United, the biggest club
in the Netherlands finished a full 13 points behind bitter rivals Feyenoord and failed to qualify for the Champions League for the
first time in 13 years. Marc Overmars, credited with bringing in some of the best players of recent times, was sacked in February 2023 for inappropriate behaviour - and the club has been in free fall ever since.
Budget cuts over the summer meant a young squad for the upcoming campaign. But surely Ajax would still be able to challenge for the title? Apparently not. After only a few months of the season, the famous old club were rock bottom of the Eredivisie, on to their second manager, and struggling in Europe.
Fans protested after their biggest loss
ever in De Klassieker - which was originally abandoned - and the sloppy defensive errors at home have spilled into Ajax’s Europa League campaign. Even a drop down into the Europa Conference League is looking unlikely from what is admittedly a tough group involving Marseille, Brighton, and AEK Athens. There has been the beginning of a turnaround in the league, however, where an eighth-place finish would mean a play-off game for a
place in the Europa Conference League. That would have traditionally been considered
an embarrassment for a club the size of
Ajax. But with the way this season has gone
- and the chaos that continues to engulf
the Amsterdam giant - it might actually be considered more of an achievement and a chance for Ajax to start a rebuilding process that it desperately needs.
Ajax missed the Champions League for the first time in
13 years