Ajax beat Atalanta 2-0 on Thursday, 22 October, at the Johan Cruijff ArenA, its first win in the competition after a 2-1 defeat at Hajduk Split the week before.
Tolu Arokodare scored the opener and Abdellah Ouazane added the second in the closing seconds, both after coming on from the bench.
Ajax missed several chances, and Carnesecchi made key saves against Jorthy Mokio and Oscar Gloukh, so the match stayed goalless for a long period.
Ajax beat Atalanta 2-0 at the Johan Cruijff ArenA on Thursday, 22 October, in a Conference League match that stayed goalless for most of the second half. The breakthrough came from substitute Tolu Arokodare, who won a long ball played by Youri Baas, beat Atalanta defender Relja Obric in the air and finished past goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi. Shortly before the end, Abdellah Ouazane doubled the lead, running past right-back Raoul Bellanova after a pass from Arokodare and driving the ball into the net under the crossbar.
The result was Ajax's first win in the Conference League. The club had lost 2-1 at Hajduk Split the week before, and the first phase consists of six matches. Reports described the late goals as unexpected but deserved on the basis of the first half, when Ajax controlled the match.
Ajax's football was praised for its positional play, with Davy Klaassen stretching the whole right side and the midfield finding space between the lines. Ajax still struggled to turn chances into goals. A deflected shot by Gianluca Gaetano sent Lucas Rosa's effort against the inside of the post, and Klaassen was narrowly offside when Jorthy Mokio scored a goal that was rightly disallowed. Carnesecchi denied Mokio, and also stopped Oscar Gloukh twice. Marcos Leonardo, who started up front for Atalanta, missed chances as well.
In the second half Atalanta's attacks grew more frequent, and Ajax had to defend a counter-attack. Referee Antonio Nobre and the VAR decided not to award a penalty after Klaassen's slide tackle on Nicola Zalewski in the Ajax box. Ajax had a few escapes, but the substitutes changed the balance in the closing stages.
Atalanta coach Maurizio Sarri complained before the match about the crowded fixture schedule and about having only one fit centre-back in his squad, Thomas Kristensen. Atalanta was without several players, and Sarri's side was eleventh in Serie A at the time. Ajax was also missing players, including Anton Gaaei, Daley Blind, Steven Berghuis, Caio Henrique, Oliver Edvardsen and Kasper Dolber. Yves Bissouma could not be registered for the Conference League.
Ajax coach Michel Sanchez changed only one position from the win at Groningen, with Youri Baas replacing Dies Janse. Sanchez said that the way the team played and how much it got out of its players mattered more than the starting line-up.
The same evening, FC Twente won 4-1 at Lincoln Red Imps in Gibraltar, with Daouda Weidmann scoring in added time. NEC and AZ also won, which made the night a strong one for Dutch club football, according to NOS.
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Ajax won its first Conference League match of the season, beating Atalanta 2-0 at the Johan Cruijff ArenA on Thursday, 22 October. Both goals came from players who came on from the bench, after a goalless second half.
AI text based on reports by de Volkskrant, NOS and Telegraaf. Published .