Ajax beat Atalanta 2-0 in the Conference League at the Johan Cruyff ArenA on Thursday, and Míchel Sánchez said it was Ajax's first European win of the season. After the match, he praised his players' performances.
Míchel on the performance
Míchel Sánchez told Ziggo Sport: "I think we played a great match against a great opponent. We dominated the match and created a lot of chances. In the end, we scored, and I'm very happy with the players' performances."
He also said: "Perhaps we could sometimes have found better solutions or made better decisions in the final third, which would have put us ahead earlier. But the team's mentality was excellent throughout the match, both when pressing and when winning the ball back after losing it."
Goals and substitutions
Tolu Arokodare and Abdellah Ouazane scored the goals for Ajax. In the 66th minute, Tolu replaced Marcos Leonardo.
GOAL reported that Ajax had to wait until the closing stages for the decisive goals.
After Ouazane's goal made it 2-0, Míchel Sánchez said: "It was a great goal, a truly fantastic goal. He is a boy with incredible talent, but we have to keep working with him so that he becomes more consistent in his play. He is a special player, and we have to help him show that talent in an Ajax shirt for a very long time."
On Tolu, Míchel Sánchez said: "Tolu played a great match too, but not just because of his goal. It was also about the mentality with which he kept pushing when the team started to get a little more tired. The substitutions gave us new energy, and that is the most important thing: everyone is important, both the players who start and those who finish the match."
Kieft's comment on Marcos Leonardo
During the first half, Wim Kieft said on Ziggo Sport that the striker looked as though he had "a sack of potatoes on his back". GOAL reported that Kieft stood by the remark after the match.
Míchel defends Marcos Leonardo
Míchel Sánchez said: "I think Marcos played a great match. He played very well, brought continuity to our play, found space excellently, had a good chance and pressed very well. He gave us the energy we needed to play in the opposition's half."
He added: "I sometimes think that's unfair. I'm very happy with Marcos, because I think that in the last two matches we've seen the Marcos Leonardo we want to see."