Conference League: Ajax beat Atalanta 2-0 late on

Conference League: Ajax beat Atalanta 2-0 late on

Ajax beat Atalanta 2-0 at the Johan Cruijff Arena on Tuesday 22 October, on matchday 2 of the Conference League league phase. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport and ANSA, both goals were scored late in the game by Arokodare and Ouazane, both of whom came on as substitutes in the second half.

A win in the dying minutes

Atalanta held out for a long time before cracking. According to Corriere dello Sport, Sarri's depleted side held on until the 87th minute before Ajax made the difference. TuttoMercatoWeb reports that Arokodare opened the scoring after 86 minutes, and Ouazane then doubled the lead in stoppage time.

This defeat is Atalanta's first setback in this competition, reports Corriere dello Sport. Ajax dominated large parts of the match, as Placar highlights: "Ajax domina e vence a Atalanta por 2 a 0 com gols no fim".

Line-ups and ratings

TuttoMercatoWeb published Ajax's line-up in a 4-3-3: ter Stegen in goal; Lucas Rosa, Bouwman, Baas, Wijndal in defence; Amrabat, Klaassen (replaced by Tsygankov), Mokio in midfield; Brandt (replaced by Janse), Marcos Leonardo (replaced by Arokodare), Gloukh in attack.

The same outlet gave ter Stegen a rating of 6, judging him “safe in his sorties and attentive in blocking the opponent's dangerous crosses.”

Measured reactions

TuttoMercatoWeb reports that Sarri “is not making a drama” out of this defeat, stressing that the team is in an emergency situation. Atalanta's next fixture is not specified in the sources.