Ajax draw 0-0 with Aston Villa in first leg of UEFA Conference League tie

On the evening of March 7th, 2024, at 8:49pm, according to the 24-hour clock format.

On Thursday, Ajax and Aston Villa from England played against each other, and the score was 0-0 in the first round of the UEFA Conference League last 16. The game was quite balanced, and the supporters who went to the Johan Cruijff ArenA didn't find it very thrilling. They will play against each other again next week in Birmingham.

Ajax couldn't pick Steven Berghuis yet once more because he wasn't ready. Coach John van 't Schip wanted to include his second-in-command in the match, but Berghuis is still recuperating from the injury he sustained in his knee.

It was unexpected, but Ajax played better in the first half even though they were competing against the fourth-ranked team in the English Premier League.

They could have scored before the end of the first half. Jorrel Hato made an impressive pass to Brian Brobbey, who had a clear shot at the goal. However, Brobbey struggled with his less dominant left foot and ended up striking the ball into the side of the net.

After 66 minutes of play, the team playing at home had yet another opportunity to score. Borna Sosa passed the ball back to Kenneth Taylor, who took a shot that unfortunately went directly towards Aston Villa's goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and didn't result in a goal.

Unai Emery's team had a player expelled from the game during the 83rd minute. The referee decided to give defender Ezri Konsa a second yellow card as he believed that Konsa had pulled down Chuba Akpom, who had managed to escape from him.

Ajax enjoyed a brief period where they had more players on the field. However, this only lasted for three minutes as Tristan Gooijer, a young player, was given a red card for committing a second foul that was deemed worthy of a booking. His tackle on Alex Moreno was late, which resulted in his punishment.

Near the end of the match, the team playing in their own stadium had another opportunity to win. However, Akpom was unable to make the desired impact with his header despite a fantastic assist by Branco van den Boomen.

At the end of the game, both sets of supporters appeared content with the outcome being a tie. The critical game will take place next Thursday at Villa Park in Birmingham starting at 9 p.m.