Míchel Sánchez was delighted with Ajax's 2-0 win over Atalanta in the Conference League. His side dominated for long spells at the Johan Cruyff ArenA on Thursday evening, but had to wait until the closing stages for decisive goals from Tolu Arokodare and Abdellah Ouazane. The Spanish coach felt their first European win of the season was more than deserved.
"I think we played a great match against a great opponent," Míchel tells Ziggo Sport. "We dominated the match and created a lot of chances. In the end, we scored, and I'm very happy with the players' performances."
For all that dominance, Míchel sees room for improvement after his side went so long without scoring. "Perhaps we could sometimes have found better solutions or made better decisions in the final third, which would have put us ahead earlier," the manager acknowledges. "But the team's mentality was excellent throughout the match, both when pressing and when winning the ball back after losing it."
After Ouazane's stunning goal made it 2-0, Míchel reserved particular praise for him. "It was a great goal, a truly fantastic goal," the coach enthused. "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."
Tolu also earned praise after coming off the bench to score the crucial opener. "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," Míchel explained. "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."
In the 66th minute, Tolu replaced Marcos Leonardo, whose performance also impressed Míchel. Wim Kieft had criticised the Brazilian harshly during the first half, saying on Ziggo Sport that the striker looked as though he had "a sack of potatoes on his back". Kieft stood by the remark after the match, but Míchel saw it differently.
"I think Marcos played a great match," Míchel stresses. "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."
For Míchel, strikers are judged too much on their goals: "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."