Jordan Henderson lost for words after humiliating Premier League return

15 March 2024 , 07:24

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Jordan Henderson's Ajax side were hammered in Europe

Jordan Henderson said Ajax's thumping defeat at Aston Villa was "hard to put into words" as he endured a miserable return to England.

The Dutch giants had held the Premier League side to a goalless draw in Amsterdam, but were beaten 4-0 in the second-leg of their Europa Conference League tie. It means their European hopes are over for another year, with the famous outfit having a largely forgettable season.

Henderson was signed in January after he chose to cut short his time in Saudi Arabia. Up until the summer the midfielder had spent his entire career in England, largely with Liverpool. However his return to his homeland certainly didn't go to plan.

Villa, who are eyeing a spot in the Champions League, were leading at half-time courtesy of Ollie Watkins. They then scored three times in the second-half through Leon Bailey, Jhon Duran and Moussa Diaby to seal a dominant victory as Ajax ended with ten men following Sivert Mannsverk's red card on 66 minutes.

Henderson faced the media after the match and told TNT Sports: "Tough game. It is hard to stand here and put it into words straight after the game. We were beaten quite easily in the end. I felt we could cause them problems and then we concede a second, which was poor from us, then it is tough from that point to get the game back.

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"Injuries and everything seemed to go wrong from then. If we'd kept it at 1-0 for a bit longer I felt we could've hurt them but we're well beaten in the end."

On the red card he added: "I thought it was harsh, but again I'm not going to make it an excuse. That was a difficult moment for us, that and conceding the second. That is football at the end of the day, you've got to deal with those things and unfortunately it wasn't our night."

Aston Villa secured a comfortable win against 10-men

The last time Henderson played at Villa Park was last season as Liverpool landed all three points on Boxing Day. The England international played in his usual midfield role for 80 minutes as the Reds secured a 3-1 victory with Mohamed Salah among the goals.

Since Henderson joined in mid-January the Dutch outfit have managed to somewhat salvage their season. Ajax were bottom of the Eredivisie earlier this term but now sit in fifth, which would present them with the chance to play in Europe.

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Samuel Meade