Bitter debut in Europe for Jofre Torrents with Ajax

Jofre Torrents experienced an unexpected contrast in his first start with Ajax in Europe: while the young academy graduate celebrated his debut in the Conference League, the team fell 2-1 to Hajduk Split on the opening matchday.

A promising start that turned negative

The match, played at the Poljud stadium in front of 33 000 spectators, marked Torrents' debut as a starter and his first appearance in a continental competition. Up to that point, the left‑back had accumulated only eight minutes in the Eredivisie.

In the early minutes, Ajax created danger when Tolu received a pass and found himself in front of the goal, but a lack of accuracy nullified the chance. Torrents' defensive frailty became evident when he allowed Hajduk Split's first goal at the 37th minute, after an imprecise pass to his teammate Baas.

Decisive errors and substitutions

The second goal arrived two minutes after the equaliser, when Torrents again committed a foul by returning the ball too short to Baas, allowing Marin Soticek to strike into an empty net. After the second mistake, coach Míchel Sánchez substituted Torrents in the 77th minute, handing the position to the Italo‑Brazilian Lucas Rosa.

Ter Stegen, loaned from Barça until the end of the season, made several saves, but could not prevent the defeat. With the loss, Ajax fell to fifth place in the Eredivisie and five points behind leaders Feyenoord, while alarm bells rang in Amsterdam.

Coach Míchel Sánchez had introduced changes before the match, lining up Thilo Kehrer as right‑back and Abdellah Ouazane up front. Despite the pressure, the team failed to overturn the scoreline and the European campaign began with a painful defeat.

Journalist Jordi Batalla described Torrents' performance as “a bitter long ball”, emphasizing that his errors were decisive in the build‑up to the second goal. With the defeat, Ajax records its third consecutive match without a win.