For 86 minutes Atalanta held out at the Johan Cruijff Arena. Then Tolu Arokodare found the bottom corner, Ajax found their nerve, and a game that had been drifting towards a frustrating goalless draw ended as a 2-0 win in the Conference League league stage.
Ajax pile on the pressure and get nothing for it
The numbers tell you how one-sided the evening was before the goals arrived. Ajax had 21 shots to Atalanta's 16, put seven of them on target to the visitors' one, and had a shot come back off the woodwork. They held 60.7 per cent of the ball and won eight corners. The match was goalless at half-time and stayed that way deep into the second half, with Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi making five saves to keep Ajax out.
It was the kind of night that can turn sour in a hurry for a home crowd of 51,739. Atalanta were content to sit deep, and Jonathan Rowe went close on a couple of breaks after coming on in the 80th minute, one saved by Marc ter Stegen and another blocked. Had either gone in, the story would have been about Ajax wasting a night of control.
Arokodare breaks the deadlock
The breakthrough came in the 87th minute. Youri Baas picked out Arokodare in the centre of the box and the striker shaped a right-footed finish into the bottom right corner. It was a clean strike after an hour and a half of work with little to show for it, and the stadium reacted accordingly.
The second arrived in stoppage time. Arokodare, now turning provider, set up Abdellah Ouazane, who cut in from the left and hit a left-footed shot from a tight angle into the high centre of the goal. That came in the 93rd minute, three minutes into added time, and it closed the game off for good. Julian Brandt had been replaced by Dies Janse at the start of stoppage time as Ajax saw the match out.
What it means for Ajax and Atalanta
The win leaves Ajax 13th in the Conference League table with three points from two matches, one win and one defeat, and Atalanta sit two places lower in 15th on the same total. Both sides sit inside the play-off places for now, with the top eight taking direct entry to the last 16. For Ajax the result matters as much for the way it came as for the points, a patient win over an opponent who had come to defend.
Atalanta will wonder how little they offered in attack. One shot on target across the night is a thin return, and Nicola Zalewski's yellow card for a late foul in the 86th minute, one minute before the opener, summed up a team that was starting to creak.
Match facts: Ajax 2-0 Atalanta, UEFA Conference League league stage, Johan Cruijff Arena, Thursday 22 October 2026. Goals: Arokodare 87', Ouazane 90'+3. Attendance 51,739. Shots 21-16, on target 7-1, possession 60.7%-39.3%. Source: BBC Sport match data.
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