Míchel Sánchez wants to see the best version of Ajax against Atalanta on Thursday evening. The UEFA Conference League match kicks off at 21:00 at the Johan Cruijff ArenA. The coach has confidence in his squad. "The players feel good after the win against FC Groningen. We are looking forward to putting in a good performance."
"We want to change the image of our team. Against Hajduk Split, we played our worst match of the season. We have to win all the individual battles on the pitch on Thursday and be highly effective. That is important."
Goalkeeper Marc ter Stegen spoke in similar terms about the match against the Italians. "It will be an intense battle for the three points. Atalanta are a top team. We are aware of their strengths, but we are also well prepared for the match."
"Against NEC and Hajduk Split, it seemed as though we lacked energy. Also in our pressing. But for me, the glass is always half full. It is about the response after a bad match. And we saw that in Groningen."
Blind and Berghuis
There was also good news from the training ground. Daley Blind and Steven Berghuis have rejoined group training. However, the home match against Atalanta comes too soon for the pair, Sánchez explained.
"It is very important that Daley and Steven are back with the group. It is good news. They are still in the final stages of their rehabilitation. We hope they will be available again in the near future. They are players whose experience we can rely on. Perhaps they will be back on Sunday, otherwise next week."
Oleksandr Zinchenko is currently continuing his rehabilitation at Ajax. The Ukrainian sustained an injury in February while playing for Ajax during the match against Fortuna Sittard at the Johan Cruijff ArenA. Zinchenko is currently without a club and has been given permission to complete the final stage of his rehabilitation at de Toekomst.
Owen Wijndal played a major part in Julian Brandt’s goal to make it 1-3 against FC Groningen with a run that he started inside his own half. The Ajax left-back carried the ball all the way to the penalty area, saw that his German teammate was in an even better position to shoot and played the ball across. Brandt turned Wijndal’s pass into the crucial 1-3. In this edition of Ajax Insights, we take a closer look at Wijndal’s statistics. Ajax Insights is developed by Team Rockstars IT.
On Sunday, November 15, Ajax Legends and FC Barcelona Legends will face each other at the Johan Cruijff ArenA in a Legacy Match paying tribute to Johan Cruijff. The Ajax Legends squad is beginning to take shape.