Youri Baas enjoys midfield role in Ajax’s 6-1 win at FC Midtjylland, Digi Mart USA News (Herning, Denmark): Ajax defeated FC Midtjylland 6-1 on Thursday in Denmark. Youri Baas played as a controlling midfielder, replacing the injured Sofyan Amrabat, and Ajax Life spoke with him after the match.
Midtjylland coach Míchel Sánchez praised Baas, calling him enormously intelligent and saying he delivered a great performance. Sánchez said he would not compare Baas to Daley Blind, but noted that the two share some similarities.
Baas said his positional sense is one of his strengths. “I usually know how to choose a position and see where the space comes up,” he said.
He added that he considers himself best suited to playing as a centre-back but enjoys the midfield role and tries to fill it in his own way.
Baas said he learned only early in the afternoon that he would start as a controlling midfielder, but he had trained in that role in the preceding days. He described the centre-back competition with Sánchez, Daley Blind, Thilo Kehrer, Aaron Bouwman and Dies Janse as a healthy contest within one team.
Baas acknowledged that a red card shown to Midtjylland helped Ajax, as the home side played the entire second half with one man fewer. He said Ajax started well and took an early lead, and that a dismissal affected the match after the equaliser.
Substitute Marcos Leonardo scored Ajax’s sixth goal, and Baas praised the team spirit and cooperation with the coaching staff, including assistant coach Juanvi Peinado, who is responsible for set pieces. Baas also praised Owen Wijndal, who scored a goal and provided an assist, saying he has performed well all season.
Looking ahead, Baas said Ajax must recover quickly for Sunday’s match against FC Twente, a difficult opponent with a strong home crowd that includes Wout Weghorst. He said Ajax remains in the title race and wants to enter the international break with a positive result in Enschede.
