Abdellah Ouazane immediately made an impact with Ajax Amsterdam on Thursday during the first leg of the Conference League playoff against FC Sion. Coming on in the 73rd minute for Oscar Gloukh, the 17-year-old Moroccan participated in the action that allowed the Dutch team to regain the lead, before securing a final victory of 4-2 in Switzerland.
FC Sion had just equalized with a penalty converted by Ilyas Chouaref when Ouazane broke down the left flank and delivered a cross into the box. Deflected successively by two Swiss defenders, the ball reached Tolu Arokodare, who had also just entered the game. The striker headed the ball in to score Ajax’s third goal in the 74th minute.
Trailing at halftime after Franck Surdez opened the scoring in the 34th minute, Ajax turned the match around thanks to Julian Brandt (53rd) and Marcos Leonardo (60th). After Chouaref’s equalizer in the 71st minute, Tolu Arokodare quickly restored the lead for the Amsterdammers, before Davy Klaassen sealed the victory in the 87th minute.
At just 17 years old, Ouazane fully took advantage of the playing time granted by Míchel Sánchez to shine on the European stage. Ajax has thus taken a serious step towards qualification ahead of the return match in Amsterdam.
