Ajax midfielder Jordan Henderson has admitted that Aston Villa showed the gulf in experience between the two teams on Thursday night.
Unai Emery’s side hammered Ajax 4-0 at Villa Park to progress through to the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League.
Ollie Watkins scored in the first half to give the lead to the home side and Aston Villa scored three more after the break to send Ajax packing in Europe this season.
Ajax looked listless but Henderson stressed that Aston Villa deserved the credit for the performance they produced to reach the next round of the Europa Conference League.
He conceded that Aston Villa showed the chasm that exists between the two teams in terms of experience and quality and it was a humbling experience for Ajax.
The midfielder stressed that Ajax must look within themselves and identify the areas they need to improve moving forward.
Henderson told Dutch broadcaster Veronica (via Voetbal Primeur): “We must also give credit to Villa.
“They have a very strong and experienced team. You clearly saw the difference in experience between the teams.
“They managed their game well.
“We must mainly look at ourselves and analyse what we need to improve but this one is tough to take.”
Emery is chasing another European trophy in his career while keeping Aston Villa fixated on qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
