Decisive man Brandt breaks assist record, thanks Marc-Andre

The decisive man for Ajax’s win was Julian Brandt, who on Sunday finally caught up on his long‑missing assist tally – and in doing so he thanked Marc‑Andre ter Stegen for a crucial save in the same game.

Assist breakthrough in the home match against Sparta Rotterdam

In the 2‑1 victory of the Dutch record champions on the 10th matchday of the Eredivisie, Brandt delivered his first two assists for Ajax. In the 22nd minute he set up the opening goal for Abdellah Ouazane, after playing a one‑two with the 17‑year‑old Moroccan 20 metres from goal.

Just before halftime, in the 45+1 minute, Brandt dribbled from his own half, struck the ball into the penalty area and set striker Tolu Arokodare up for the second goal.

Impact on chances and the luck of the pass

So far, Brandt is the Ajax player who has created the most goal‑scoring chances in the Eredivisie – already on matchday 8 against NEC Nijmegen he produced eight chances, more than all his teammates combined.

Arokodare’s stoppage‑time strike drives Ajax past Sparta in Rotterdam

However, until the 10th matchday he lacked the decisive assist luck, as the players he supplied failed to convert the chances. After the free transfer from Dortmund in the summer he had to wait until this game to finally record his first two assists.

Another stroke of luck came in the 59th minute, when a wayward pass from Brandt near his own penalty area found Mitchell van Bergen of Sparta. The shot was saved by Marc‑Andre ter Stegen; Brandt immediately went over to him and applauded gratefully.

Ter Stegen displayed several spectacular reflex saves as the game progressed, thwarted further equalising attempts and remained a reliable safety net for Ajax until the final whistle.

Julian Brandt thrills Ajax, convinces van der Vaart's critics

With the win Ajax moved past PSV Eindhoven, who had previously been 1‑1 with Feyenoord, and cut the gap to the league leaders from Rotterdam to three points.