Telstar 0-4 Ajax: the minnows hold on, then Berghuis pulls the strings

For a modest, recently promoted side, a home date with Ajax is the fixture you circle on the calendar — the night the giants come to your ground. Telstar met the occasion with spirit, and for well over half an hour they frustrated their illustrious visitors. The scoreboard stayed blank until the 37th minute, and the hosts could hold their heads high for the fight they put up before Ajax's quality finally told. Nights like this are why smaller clubs dream of promotion in the first place.

The man who unlocked it was Steven Berghuis. The experienced playmaker had a hand in three of Ajax's four goals — teeing up Davy Klaassen for the opener on 37 minutes, scoring himself on 56, and then assisting Tolu Arokodare on the hour. A goal and two assists is the return of a player operating on a different level to the game around him. Once Berghuis found his rhythm, Telstar's brave resistance simply had no answer to his passing and movement between the lines.

The underlying numbers were closer than the scoreline suggests — Ajax's 2.13 expected goals against Telstar's 1.13 — but the visitors were far more clinical with their openings. Marcos Leonardo added a fourth on 78 minutes after coming off the bench, underlining the strength Ajax carried in reserve. Telstar actually managed a respectable share of chances; what they lacked was the ruthless finishing that separates the establishment from the ambitious newcomer. That is often the hardest gap of all to close.

Four goals conceded looks harsh on a night when Telstar competed for long spells, but that is the reality of facing a side with Ajax's individual quality. The hosts will take heart from their first-half resilience and the chances they created; the coaching staff will point to the finishing and the concentration that slipped after Berghuis opened the scoring. For Ajax, a routine away win driven by their most influential player — exactly the kind of professional night a title challenge is built on.