Ajax suffered a 2-1 defeat against Hajduk Split in Croatia in the club's first league phase game of their UEFA Conference League campaign.

Abdoulie Sanyang put the home side ahead after just under 40 minutes. Davy Klaassen drew Ajax level in the second half, but Marin Šotiček restored Hajduk Split's lead just before the hour mark.

Ajax searched for an equaliser in the last 30 minutes and came close on a few occasions, with Oscar Gloukh hitting the woodwork. 

Michel Sanchez's side unfortunately could not find the back of the net for a second time, though, and left Split empty-handed.

While Ajax did drop points against Excelsior and NEC Nijmegen, the positive was that in both games, they created several chances and on both occasions, probably should have won the game.

Against Hajduk Split, however, Ajax were quite poor on the ball, particularly in the first half. They struggled to create chances throughout the game. In the first half, the Amsterdammers were chaotic in possession and had only three shots and only three touches in Hajduk Split's penalty box. 

They did improve in the second half, but they were still not as dominant as Michel probably would have liked them to be.

Viktor Tsygankov has not made a positive impression in an Ajax shirt so far. The winger has offered very little, and if that does not change, Steven Berghuis will likely return to the starting line-up when he is fit again.

Both Berghuis and Tsygankov like to come into more central areas, and Ajax therefore need a winger who is comfortable holding the width to give Michel a different kind of option. In addition to needing variety in profiles, Ajax definitely also need more quality in that position.

Michel took far too long to make substitutions on Thursday night. Ajax's performance was largely uninspiring throughout the game, and the Spanish head coach did not make any substitutions until the last 15 minutes of the game.

There is an argument to be made that he should have made substitutions at half time, but he should have certainly done so after an hour when the home side restored their lead.

Before Thursday's game, Jofre Torrents had only played eight minutes for Ajax since joining the club from Barcelona in the summer. Those minutes came against Telstar as a substitute. 

Torrents was given the chance to start against Hajduk Split with Caio Henrique injured, and the young Spaniard did not impress.

He made several mistakes throughout the game and looked off the pace. Torrents has to take responsibility for his performance, but it was also irresponsible of Michel to start him in a game like this, given how little he has played. The atmosphere could also have been quite intimidating to a player like Torrents, who is still very inexperienced.

Simon Adingra Oscar Gloukh has started on the left wing for Ajax in most games this season and has been very good in a couple of games. However, he was poor against NEC Nijmegen on Saturday, and his end product often lets him down.

Abdellah Ouazane has looked very bright in his appearances coming on as a substitute this season and started against Hajduk Split, but struggled to make the impact he has made coming off the bench in previous games.

Ouazane is extremely talented and can develop into one of the best players in the world, but at this stage of his career, he may be better off coming on in the final 30 minutes of games against tired defenders.

While Gloukh's end product is poor, he does constantly make things happen. 

It remains to be seen what Simon Adingra will offer Ajax on the left wing. He made his debut on Saturday against NEC Nijmegen, but played on the right wing. He has struggled with injuries recently and missed Thursday's game as he was not fully fit.