Ajax win at Sion, Twente lose at home in Conference League

Ajax and FC Twente played the first legs of their Conference League play-off ties on Thursday evening, the last stage before the competition’s league phase. Ajax won 4-2 away at FC Sion in Switzerland, while Twente lost 1-0 at home to FK Qarabag.

Ajax fell behind to a goal just after 30 minutes but recovered after the break. Julian Brandt and Marcos Leonardo scored to put the visitors in front, before Sion equalised from the penalty spot through Ylyas Chouaref.

Tolu Arokodare headed in within a minute of coming on to restore the lead, and Davy Klaassen lobbed a fourth late on.

The match was shown in the Netherlands only on a €4.99 pay-per-view channel, a decision that had angered many fans in the build-up. Ajax will go through as long as they avoid losing by three or more goals in next Thursday’s return at the Johan Cruijff Arena.

Twente jeered at home
Twente had a good start in Enschede but faded, and Kady Borges scored shortly after half-time to hand Qarabag the lead. The home crowd began jeering the team, whistling at the players at full time and cheering the substitution of striker Wout Weghorst.

Qarabag, multiple-time Azerbaijani champions, reached the Champions League knockout stage last season. Both Dutch clubs had come through the previous qualifying round last week. Twente now face a difficult second leg in Baku next Thursday.