Ajax won their fifth consecutive game on Thursday night against FC Midtjylland in Denmark.

Tolu Arokodare made it 1-0 to Ajax with an excellent header, scoring for the fourth game in a row. Friday Etim then found an equaliser for the hosts before Kjell Wätjen was given his marching orders shortly before half-time, which meant Midtjylland had to play the rest of the game with 10 men.

With a man advantage, Ajax went on to dominate the second half. The Amsterdammers created six big chances during the second half, scoring four of them.

Tolu Arokodare restored Ajax's lead early on in the second half, scoring his second goal of the night. Owen Wijndal then scored Ajax's third of the evening with a well-taken goal.

Davy Klaassen then scored his ninth goal of the season in all competitions to make it 1-4 to Ajax. Oscar Gloukh had an excellent game and scored Ajax's fifth of the night with an impressive finish before Marcos Leonardo made it 1-6, getting his first goal since he scored in Ajax's 0-4 win against Telstar at the end of August.

Ajax's press this season has been very poor. Ajax often allow the opponent to have an overload in build-up, and their press has also often lacked intensity.

However, against Midtjylland, Ajax went man-to-man in the first line, with Jorthy Mokio, who started as the No. 10, marking their deepest midfielder. Midtjylland were then often forced to play the ball out wide, where Ajax's full-backs, Owen Wijndal and Lucas Rosa, could press the player receiving the ball and force a turnover.

The zonal press has not worked, and Michel Sanchez's adjustments against Midtjylland worked well. From now on, Ajax either need to press man-to-man all over the pitch, or press man-to-man only on the ball side of the pitch, which would leave an opposition player free on the opposite side of the ball, but allow Ajax to maintain an overload in the defensive line.

So far this season, Michel has often asked his wingers to move into more central positions, with the full-backs pushing high to hold the width.

However, against Midtjylland, Gloukh, who started as the left winger, and Abdellah Ouazane, who started on the right wing, both held the width, with the two full-backs, Lucas Rosa on the right and Owen Wijndal on the left, operating in the half-spaces. This suited Wijndal very well, as he often likes moving into the centre of the pitch.

Gloukh likes to roam into central areas, but he has shown that he can hold the width. He has good acceleration and can go past the full-back regularly. Starting a right-footer in Ouazane on the right wing was also a good call from a tactical perspective, but he is better on the left.

Neither Steven Berghuis nor Viktor Tsygankov like holding the width on the right. Davy Klaassen has also essentially been a midfielder in possession when he has been used on the right.

It is therefore of the utmost importance that Ajax sign a right winger in January who specialises in holding the width. Michel needs that profile of player in that position.

With Sofyan Amrabat injured and Yves Bissouma unavailable due to not being registered in Ajax's Conference League squad, Michel decided to use Youri Baas in the No. 6 position.

When Ajax were in settled possession in the opposition half, Baas became the left centre-back in a back three, with Klaassen acting as the deepest midfielder. It was a creative but effective solution from Michel, and one that shows he understands the profiles of his players very well.

Michel could have asked Mokio to be the player to drop deep when Ajax were in settled possession, but Mokio is dynamic and likes to get up and down the pitch. Klaassen suits the role of a more static defensive midfielder much better. 

Gloukh had started on the bench against Sparta Rotterdam and AZ Alkmaar after a string of poor performances, but he returned to the starting lineup against Midtjylland on the left wing and was simply exceptional. He scored one goal and assisted two.

He created five chances, including two big ones and produced one of his best performances this season.

Even when Gloukh plays badly, he always looks to make things happen and is very involved throughout the game. However, his end product this season has been very poor, as has his decision-making.

While he is very frustrating to watch when he isn't playing well, he is very hard to stop when he is, and against Midtjylland, he showed how good he can be.

Gloukh needs to build on this performance and find consistency over the coming weeks.

Leonardo has had a frustrating start to his Ajax career. He has missed several big chances, but his movement in and around the penalty box and his ability to get into the right positions have been very positive.

He has lacked confidence in front of goal, but his goal on Thursday night should restore some of that confidence and take some pressure off him.

Tolu is in sensational form and has established himself as Ajax's first-choice striker, but Leonardo needs to build on this goal and get back to his best. Even though Tolu is in amazing form, both he and Leonardo are very different strikers, and it would help Michel significantly to have them both in form.