Ajax bounce back from last week's Conference League defeat with late win over Atalanta

Ajax scored two late goals to seal a victory against Atalanta in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday. Tolu Arokodare scored in the 89th minute before Abdellah Ouazane added a second in the final minute of the game at the Johan Cruijff Arena.

It is a significant win for Ajax, who bounced back from a disappointing defeat away against Hajduk Split last week in their first game of the Conference League campaign. Atalanta, who have been a regular in the UEFA Champions League in recent seasons, were considered one of the pre-tournament favorites for the competition.

Michel opted to bring Youri Baas back into the side at center back. Baas had been on the bench for the 5-2 away win against FC Groningen on Sunday, with Dies Janse starting the game. He also opted for Marcos Leonardo again ahead of the fan favorite Tolu Arokodare.

Ajax almost made a perfect start to the game with Lucas Rosa’s shot being deflected onto the post before being cleared by the Atalanta defence after just five minutes played.

The right back also created the other only chance of note in the first half, which came when he found Leonardo in the box with a pass before the Brazilian hit his shot just wide of the goal.

Rosa was on form, creating another big chance for Michel’s side at the start of the second half. On this occasion, his cross found Julian Brandt unmarked in the box, but his header went wide.

It was a low-key affair with almost everyone accepting the 0-0 draw when Ajax all of a sudden broke the deadlock in the 87th minute. Arokodare won the aerial duel over Relja Orbic before placing the ball into the goal past Marco Carnesecchi.

Ajax added another in the final seconds to seal the win. Young winger Abdellah Ouazane dribbled past Raul Bellanova before smashing the ball in via the underside of the crossbar from an acute angle.