Super Eagles striker Tolu Arokodare has earned praise from Ajax manager Michel Sanchez after his decisive contribution helped the Dutch giants secure a 2-0 victory over Atalanta in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday, Footynaija.com reports.
The Nigerian forward came off the bench to break the deadlock late in the second half before providing an assist for teenage attacker Abdellah Ouazane as Ajax claimed their first win of the competition’s league phase at the Johan Cruijff Arena.
Speaking after the game, Sanchez explained that Arokodare’s introduction was intended to give Ajax more attacking threat in the penalty area, while praising his relationship with the striker and the rest of the squad.
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“I brought him on to create more threat in the penalty area. Sometimes you make substitutions and they don’t work out well, but the return of the players who came off the bench brought about the improvement for me,” Sanchez said, as quoted by ESPN.
“I have a great relationship with all the players. Tolu is a special player, as I have already said, and I have a very good relationship with him. But also with the rest of the team.
“I am lucky to have a team that works very hard day in and day out. Managing these kinds of players is sometimes not easy, but they help enormously. They make my job much easier.”
Arokodare made his impact felt in the closing stages after replacing Marcos Leonardo in the 66th minute.
The striker used his physical strength to get the better of Atalanta defender Relja Obrić before keeping his composure to slot past goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi in the 87th minute.
He then turned provider deep into stoppage time, setting up Ouazane to seal the victory with a spectacular finish in the 93rd minute.
The result handed Ajax three valuable points after a frustrating first half in which they struggled to turn their possession and attacking pressure into goals, with Arokodare demonstrating his value to Sanchez courtesy of his off-the-bench heroics.
