Julian Brandt's Volley Ignites Ajax's 5-1 Victory

Ajax found exactly the response they needed.

Stung by a domestic defeat the previous week, they rolled into Fortuna Sittard and tore through the hosts 5-1, a statement win built on a moment of pure technique from Julian Brandt and finished off with ruthless attacking depth.

Brandt’s brilliance, muted reaction

The breakthrough came on 35 minutes. Moments after Marc ter Stegen had to bail Ajax out with a sharp stop from Ole Romeny, Brandt stepped forward and changed the tone of the afternoon.

A loose ball dropped, the German midfielder shaped his body, and his volley ripped past the keeper. Clinical. Elegant. The kind of strike that usually sends a player sprinting to the corner flag.

Brandt barely moved.

No roar, no chest-beating, just a quiet release. Speaking to ESPN NL after the game, the 30-year-old admitted the goal arrived in the middle of a first half he simply did not like from himself. He felt he had been careless, guilty of “sloppy balls and easy passes” before finding the net, and said the subdued reaction was more about venting frustration than enjoying the moment.

“I wasn’t really happy with my performance in the first half,” he said. “For me, it was a moment to express my feelings instead of running around celebrating. I’m not that typical celebration guy anyway.”

The strike, though, set Ajax on their way.

Fortuna hit back, Ajax hit harder

Fortuna Sittard did not fold immediately. After the interval, Anthony Descotte found an equaliser and briefly dragged the home side level, capitalising on one of the spells Brandt later pointed to: phases where Ajax let their grip slip with needless giveaways and invited pressure.

That was as good as it got for Fortuna.

The response from Ajax was brutal. Thilo Kehrer restored the lead, Davy Klaassen added another, and the visitors suddenly had control again. Kasper Dolberg then joined the party, Youri Baas added the fifth, and the scoreboard turned emphatically one-sided.

What could have become a nervous second half instead became a showcase of Ajax’s attacking options and their ability to “smell danger around the box” and force open games with what Brandt described as a crucial door-opening goal.

Yet even in a 5-1 win, the midfielder’s mind went back to the small details that still irritate him.

“We have moments where we have sloppy mistakes in ball possession, a little bit naive sometimes,” he said. With a squad packed with new and young players, he called those lapses understandable, but not acceptable for where Ajax want to go. “We have to work on avoiding these small things. If you concede goals in future games, it makes everything harder.”

Fitness fears gone, schedule looming

If the performance still left him demanding more, Brandt’s body at least is exactly where he wants it.

After missing parts of pre-season, the German has been building his way back. Now, he says, the numbers prove he is there. Recent data from matches against PEC Zwolle showed his sprint and velocity metrics back at full tilt, and he did not hesitate when asked about his condition.

“I’m at 100% now,” he said. “My physical data, like sprints and velocity, was really good. I’m ready for the busy week in front of us and hungry for more.”

A five-goal win, a volley to remember, a midfielder who refuses to be satisfied with either. If this is Ajax still ironing out “small things,” what happens when they finally stop giving anyone a way back in?