Argentina international Nicolas Tagliafico was pleased with his match-winning brace for Ajax during their Champions League opener against AEK Athens. The Dutch outfit were initially made to sweat after playing out a goalless first half but they managed to open up the Greek champions in the second half with Tagliafico bagging two of the goals.

Speaking after the game, Tagliafico said that the opening strike was crucial to change the complexion of the match whilst admitting that he was probably lucky with the second goal which came about from a spectacular mishit, he told UEFA.com: “My first goal was the most important because it broke the match open. The second was, I admit, a little lucky.

“I know I almost scored as many as Messi did last night, though I don’t know if he was watching. It was a difficult game, especially the first half, but that’s what you expect in the Champions League. The coach told us during the break just to keep playing the way we were; he was happy with our first half.”

With the victory, Ajax have got an early advantage with three points but they may still need to overcome one of Bayern Munich or Benfica in the forthcoming group stage games in order to maintain their prospects of making the knockout phase. Meanwhile, at the domestic level, Ajax are already a couple of points behind reigning champions PSV Eindhoven, who have made the perfect start to the season after the opening five matches.

Unlike other sides, PSV have looked relatively comfortable with 21 goals scored from just five games but Ajax have the opportunity to break their perfect run when they make the trip to the Philips Stadion this weekend. The previous meeting at the stadium ended in a 3-0 defeat with Ajax having two men sent off including Tagliafico.