Ajax continued their exellent form on Thursday night with a 1-6 win against FC Midtjylland.

Tolu Arokodare continued to impress as he put Ajax 1-0 up early on. Friday Etim then levelled the score before Kjell Wätjen was sent off towards the end of the first half.

With a man advantage, Ajax scored 5 goals in the second half. Tolu scored his second goal early in the second half to put Ajax ahead again. Owen Wijndal, Davy Klaasen, Oscar Gloukh and Marcos Leonardo all got on the scoresheet afterwards as Ajax cruised to victory.

With Sofyan Amrabat unavailable due to injury and Yves Bissouma not being registered in Ajax's Conference League squad for the league phase of the competition, Michel Sanchez opted to start Youri Baas in defensive midfield.

Davy Klaassen was deployed as the no. 8, and with Julian Brandt having been unavailable due to injury, Michel decided to use Jorthy Mokio in the no. 10 position.

Mokio has played the majority of his minutes this season as a no. 8, but was also used as a no. 6 following the departure of Youri Regeer to Werder Bremen on loan. Michel'd decision to use Mokio in the no. 10 role, especially with Klaassen also on the pitch, was a surprising decision, but it proved to be a smart one.

Speaking on the AD Voetbal podcast, journalist Johan Inan explained why Michel opted to use Mokio as Ajax's most advanced midfielder against Midtjylland.

"That boy has spirit and he can win the ball," Inan said.

"What they have been working on at Ajax is teaching him to press and to win back the ball. Ajax doesn't have many like that. Míchel is so pleased with that that he absolutely wanted to keep Mokio in that attacking position in midfield."

Mokio is quickly establishing himself as one of Ajax's most important players.

On the ball, he is technically gifted. He is good at progressing the ball forward through his carrying and is good at keeping the ball even when pressed by opposition players.

Out of possession, he is also exceptional. He is energetic and can cover a lot of ground. He can play on the last line when Ajax have the ball, but he is fast enough to get back quickly enough to help defend transitions.

Ajax has been quite poor this season. Michel has often opted for a zonal press, which has been very ineffective. Against Midtjylland, the Spanish head coach opted to go man-to-man on the ball side of the field. Mokio was tasked with marking Midtjylland's deepest midfielder, and that is a role that suits him well.

With Mokio marking the opponent's deepest midfielder, it forces the opposition to go wide, where it is easier for Ajax to win the ball back.