Tolu Arokodare came off the bench to score and set up a second as Ajax beat Atalanta 2-0 in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday night. The Nigerian replaced Marcos Leonardo in the 66th minute, broke the deadlock in the 87th and laid on Abdellah Ouazane's stoppage-time clincher.
Bold Sports counts the opener as the 100th goal of his career.
Twenty-four minutes that changed the night
For an hour at the Johan Cruijff ArenA, Marco Carnesecchi looked unbeatable. The Atalanta goalkeeper made four saves before half-time, according to Goal. Lucas Rosa hit the post inside six minutes. Jorthy Mokio had a goal ruled out for offside. It stayed 0-0 at the break.
His first chance went badly wrong. Around the 77th minute he caught his own standing leg as he shot and sent the ball over.
Then the breakthrough.
Ten minutes later he made no mistake. Youri Baas, back in the side at centre-back, hit a long ball forward, Arokodare won his duel with Relja Obric, ran clear and beat Carnesecchi one-on-one, a finish that Goal, AT5 and Voetbal International all place in the 87th minute. Deep into added time he won another long ball and played in Ouazane. The winger went past his marker and struck in off the underside of the crossbar. Complete Sports puts that goal in the 93rd minute.
“I looked at the clock, it was the last moment of the game,” Ouazane told Ziggo Sport.
Ajax needed this. Míchel Sánchez's side had lost 2-1 at Hajduk Split on the opening matchday, so beating an Atalanta team coached by Maurizio Sarri brought their first win and first three points of the league phase. Bold Sports reports that the result lifts Ajax to 13th.
“I see the players growing,” Míchel told NOS. With so many new signings, he added, building a team is a process of falling down and getting back up.
A loan that is paying off
Arokodare only arrived in Amsterdam at the end of July, joining on loan from Wolves for the 2026-27 season with an option to buy that beIN Sports reported at £17m, and nobody quite knew what Ajax were getting. His year at Molineux had been hard: six goals in 38 appearances after Wolves paid Genk a reported £24m.
Thursday's goal was his eighth of the season, with three assists in 13 matches, by Bold Sports' count. FotMob also logs a goal at NEC on 10 October. Yet he started on the bench. Not any more, perhaps. The Dutch morning papers praised him and criticised Leonardo, Voetbalprimeur reported.
What it means for Nigeria
Timing matters. In September's AFCON qualifiers against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau he got 22 and 21 minutes, per FotMob. Both off the bench. Eric Chelle has not yet named his squad for November's two qualifiers against Tanzania. Afrik-Foot listed Arokodare among the centre-forward options alongside Victor Osimhen, Akor Adams, George Ilenikhena and Kelechi Iheanacho, a crowded room for any forward, let alone one who has spent much of the autumn as a substitute for his club. A goal and an assist in Europe, in 27 minutes, is hard evidence. Chelle will have noticed.
Arokodare's career numbers are on our Tolu Arokodare stats page, and Osimhen's European form is covered in our report on Galatasaray's 4-2 win over Lille. Next up: Sparta away on Sunday.
This article was most recently revised and updated 18 seconds ago
