Ajax had no trouble disposing of FC Midtjylland in Herning, beating the Danish Superliga leaders 6-1 to make it two UEFA Conference League wins in a row.
The home fans were eager to see their side give the ultimate response, after a shock defeat to St. Truidense VV two weeks ago. However, after a quarter-hour delay due to pyrotechnic smoke covering the pitch, Ajax started positively and took the lead within the opening 10 minutes. The in-form Tolu fired narrowly wide via a deflection, after Owen Wijndal’s cross was palmed into his path, but he atoned moments later with his next touch of the ball, when he headed in Oscar Gloukh’s subsequent corner.
That made it four goals in as many games for the Nigerian, and Davy Klaassen almost joined him on the scoresheet soon after, forcing a point-blank save on the volley at the end of a Lucas Rosa ball into the area. Ajax would pay dearly for that failure on 29’, when Cho outjumped Klaassen to flick on for Friday Etim, who put Thilo Kehrer on his back and burst forward, before rounding Marc ter Stegen for a simple tap-in.
Though the remaining first-half minutes were evenly fought, there was still time for Kjell Watjen to receive a second yellow card when he barged over Abdellah Ouazane as Ajax attempted to counter.
That set the tone for a potentially ill-tempered second half, but Ajax kept their nerve and retook the lead five minutes after the interval, when Ouazane squared the ball to Tolu, who beat Bakker with a brilliant shot to lock down his second brace of the season.
Ajax then put the game beyond doubt as the clock struck the hour mark, when Tolu turned provider with a smart pass to Wijndal, who buried inside the left post. The nightmare continued for Midtjylland, with three more goals in the final 25 minutes. First, Klaassen made it 4-1 when he ran onto a clever lofted pass from Thilo Kehrer and easily headed it home from close range, before Gloukh weaved past several opponents and unleashed a magnificent effort from the edge of the box inside the right post.
Midtjylland were now a punch-drunk rabble, and Ajax made it six in the 82nd minute, when Marcos Leonardo lifted the ball over Bakker and headed in from close range.
It was an emphatic end to a blistering second-half performance from Ajax, who remain beaten on the road just once since March (W10, D3). Meanwhile, Midtjylland became the latest victims of a trend, in which Danish teams have now won just four of their 38 meetings with Dutch opponents in major European competitions (D9, L25) – and none of the last 10 (D4, L6).
Flashscore Man of the Match: Tolu Arokodare (Ajax)
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