Van der Gijp Critiques Berghuis Miss as Analysts Slam Ajax Decisions

René van der Gijp could not believe what he had seen. On Vandaag Inside, the former international laid into Steven Berghuis after the Ajax forward squandered a huge chance in the top-of-the-table clash with PSV.

The score was 1-1 in the 30th minute in Amsterdam when the ball fell perfectly for Berghuis. Left foot. Close range. Time to pick his spot. He dragged it wide.

"What disappointed me so much," Van der Gijp said. "That can happen, I know. Anything can happen. That Berghuis didn't put that ball away. That disappoints me. With such a good strike with his left foot."

He didn’t let it go. The miss, to him, was inexplicable for a player of Berghuis’s technique and experience.

"I think if he takes 20 penalties, he scores all 20. And this one you put wide, man. Come on, man!" the analyst snapped, visibly irritated by the wastefulness at such a crucial moment.

That moment grew heavier as the evening went on. Ajax never recovered. PSV took control and walked away from the Johan Cruijff Arena with a 1-3 win, helped by a brilliant goal from recent signing Lutsharel Geertruida. What could have been a turning point for Ajax instead became the symbol of a night that slipped away.

Driessen questions Míchel’s choices

If Van der Gijp focused on Berghuis, Valentijn Driessen turned his fire on the bench. The De Telegraaf football editor was unimpressed with coach Míchel’s decisions, especially his handling of the attack.

According to Driessen, taking off Tolu Arokodare after just an hour made little sense, given the striker’s performance.

"The very best player he has, Ouazane, wasn't in the team," Driessen argued, pointing at Abdellah Ouazane’s absence from the starting XI. "And he forms a very good partnership with that Brandt. And he takes Tolu off, even though he was playing quite well. And then Míchel has a stroke of genius with two strikers who haven't touched a ball all year."

Those “stroke of genius” substitutes were Kasper Dolberg and Marcos Leonardo. Both came on, both were rusty, and neither changed the game.

Right-back call under fire

Driessen then moved to the back line. One decision, in particular, left him shaking his head: the choice to start Gaaei at right-back against Van Bommel.

"And then Gaaei, who can't defend, plays at right-back against Van Bommel. And then he has another defender on the bench. What are you supposed to do with these kinds of coaches?" he asked, summing up his frustration with Míchel’s selection.

Between Berghuis’s miss, the substitutions, and the defensive choices, the verdict from the studio was brutal. On a night when Ajax needed clarity and cold-blooded finishing, they got hesitation, misfires, and questions that will not go away quickly.