Ajax suffered there third defeat in a row when they were hammered 5-1 in London by Chelsea. Things were certainly not helped by Kenneth Taylor’s red card in the 15th minute of the game, and although it was also 2-1 at half-time, the final whistle brought another resounding defeat in Europe. Ajax are in last place in the Champions League, with Wout Weghorst’s penalty against Chelsea being their only goal in the competition so far. At the other end, they have shipped 11. Thankfully for Ajax, they aren’t the only side without a win. Portuguese giants Benfica have also lost all three of their games, while a number of other sides are also winless.

For Johnny Heitinga, his second spell as head coach looks unlikely to last too much longer. Fans were not happy with the former Everton man when he removed Oscar Gloukh following Taylor’s red card. There is clearly a section of the fanbase who want him gone, while many would argue that they didn’t want him hired in the first place. The problem for Heitinga is that, despite starting the Eredivisie season with a seven game unbeaten run, they have dropped points against a number of sides that they would expect to beat. They have also gone four games without a win in all competitions.

This weekend Ajax will face FC Twente. If they have any ambitions of challenging for the Eredivisie title, they need to start making a dent into the nine points that sit between themselves in fourth and Feyenoord in first. Twente are two points behind Ajax with four wins, two draws and three defeats from their opening nine games. Ajax have only lost one, but the four draws have been the biggest source of frustration.

For Heitinga, his future may well depend on turning things around in the Eredivisie. Games in the Champions League are set to get easier (on paper at least), with Galatasaray, Qarabag and Benfica to come.