Ajax lost to Hajduk Split in their first league phase game of the UEFA Conference League, producing a lacklustre performance in Croatia.

In the first half, Ajax had only three shots and struggled to create chances regularly. They went into the break trailing 1-0 after Abdoulie Sanyang put the home side ahead.

In the second half, Ajax improved and found an equaliser after a well-taken goal from Davy Klaassen, which Thilo Kehrer assisted with an impressive pass.

Just minutes later, though, Hajduk Split restored their lead as Marin Šotiček found the back of the net.

Before the international break, Ajax were really starting to improve. They were dominating games and creating goal-scoring opportunities regularly. In the games since the break, against NEC Nijmegen and Hajduk Split, the performances have not been at the required standard, and it feels like the Amsterdammers have taken a step backwards.

Speaking to Ziggo Sport in a post-match interview after the game on Thursday night, Ajax head coach Michel Sanchez reacted to his team's performance. The Spaniard admitted that the first half was poor, but felt his team improved in the second half.

"In the first half, our performance was not good enough," Michel said.

"We lost a lot of possession. Without possession, we lacked the energy to apply enough pressure.

"We deserved more. In the second half, we dominated the match, but we conceded two goals due to two mistakes.

"The first half worries me, but in the second half the team was good."

As Michel said, Ajax's second-half performance was better than their first half, but over the full 90 minutes, Hajduk Split were the better team, and Ajax therefore deserved to lose. The performance was far from good enough, both in and out of possession. 

On the ball, they struggled to progress the ball up the pitch, particularly in the first half, and struggled to create as many chances as they have done in other games this season.

Out of possession, the high press was far too passive, as it has been for the majority of the season.

Another issue is how Ajax defend transitions, and that is partly down to the rest defence. For Hajduk Split's first goal, Ajax lost the ball in midfield, and immediately, the home side had a three-against-two. Ajax's rest defence has looked vulnerable on several occasions this season as Michel likes to have an overload on the last line.

Pressure on Michel is starting to grow, but it must be mentioned that he does not have an easy job.

Ajax signed 12 new players in the summer, and some of those players are still adapting to life in Amsterdam. Several of those players also did not join the club until towards the end of the transfer window, which means Michel did not have a pre-season with them.

With a busy schedule between now and the next international break, Michel will also likely have limited time on the training pitch to work on the system with his players.