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A football podcast discussed Marcos Leonardo’s performance and whether he should have taken a penalty. One report said the panel took a more positive view of the Brazilian than the wider public, which it said regarded him as having failed at Ajax.
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Marcos Leonardo’s early performances for Ajax have drawn criticism from former Ajax scout Hans van der Zee and former player Ronald de Boer. The 23-year-old Brazilian joined from Al-Hilal for nearly €20 million and has scored twice, while his expected-goals figure is 5.25. He was recently relegated to third choice behind Kasper Dolberg and Tolu Arokodare and was expected to start on the bench against FC Groningen because Dolberg was injured. Van der Zee said he had not recommended Marcos Leonardo during his time scouting him at Santos and questioned whether the striker was suited to Ajax. De Boer also said he had yet to see enough impact, but urged patience, pointing to the player’s record of 44 goals in 77 matches for Al-Hilal and the trust placed in him by Jordi Cruijff and coach Míchel.
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Ajax drew 1-1 with NEC in the Eredivisie at the Johan Cruijff ArenA. Tolu Arokodare gave Ajax an early lead in the sixth minute, but Tjaronn Chery equalised from a penalty after Jorthy Mokio fouled Noé Lebreton in the area. Mokio later hit the crossbar, while Ajax were unable to turn their possession into another goal. Simon Adingra made his Ajax debut as a substitute. The result was Ajax’s fourth league match without a home win this season. Ajax remained fifth with 15 points from eight matches, five points behind leaders Feyenoord.
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ADO Den Haag beat PSV 2-1 in The Hague after PSV played more than half the match with 10 men. Sven Mijnans gave PSV the lead, but was sent off after receiving a second yellow card before half-time. Juho Kilo equalised for ADO, and Matěj Šín scored the winner shortly before the final whistle.
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A new episode of the football podcast Playback featured reporter Robèrt Misset discussing his much-discussed interview with NEC attacker Dusan Tadic. Misset said he was surprised by the fuss surrounding the interview and addressed what had happened. The episode also covered Peter Bosz saying that the controversy was over, as well as Rypke’s experience of the Feyenoord–AZ match at De Kuip, where he considered one of the cheers somewhat exaggerated.