Ajax headed into their first weekend with Spaniard Óscar García as interim manager. The 52-year-old former FC Barcelona forward replaced Fred Grim after the latter's dismissal last Sunday.
Against Sparta Rotterdam, the former Jong Ajax manager had to do without the suspended Wout Weghorst and the ailing Kasper Dolberg, who started on the bench due to stomach issues. Youngster Don-Angelo Konadu got the start as Ajax's striker, with Steven Berghuis on his right. In the back, former Arsenal man Takehiro Tomiyasu made his first competitive start since May 19th, 2024.
With the lower South side of the stadium empty due to a reprimand from the KNVB, Sparta created the first big chance of the game when Tobias Lauritsen headed the ball towards Maarten Paes' goal, but the Norwegian striker saw his effort fly just past the post.
Ajax took over from Sparta and started creating more chances following the first 15 minutes. Steven Berghuis came close to the opener with a low shot, which rolled narrowly past Joël Drommel's goal.
Berghuis was Ajax's most dangerous factor and made his second start since September worthwhile by creating the 1-0 - the winger's free kick was deflected into Sparta's goal by Joshua Kitolano, who gave Ajax the lead in the 19th minute.
Oscar García was handed a tough hand quickly, however, with midfielder Youri Regeer seemingly picking up a severe hamstring injury in the first half. After limping off with support from a physical coach, Jorthy Mokio replaced the 22-year-old.
Takehiro Tomiyasu also made a positive impact and made his forward runs count by creating the 2-0, which Steven Berghuis scored with a rocket from close range.
Young Konadu got a dream chance to put the game beyond any doubt for Ajax, but the striker missed in front of an open goal.
With time slowly running out for Ajax, García's side scored the 3-0 after Mika Godts launched captain Davy Klaassen into Sparta's half. The veteran calmly slotted the ball past Drommel to effectively close out the game.
The Amsterdam giants weren't done there, as the recovery under García took further shape with the 4-0 - Mika Godts took on Shurandy Sambo in a one-on-one and dribbled his way past the former Burnley defender to easily put the ball in the bottom left corner in the 76th minute.
A steady Ajax side saw out the match with ease and booked a 4-0 win in Óscar García's debut as Ajax manager - the biggest for a debuting Ajax manager since 2001. Ajax won their first match since February 14th and take a big win to next week's Klassieker derby away at Feyenoord.
Check out the full match statistics on Flashscore
