Ajax coach Francesco Farioli has praised Nigerian forward Chuba Akpom following his hattrick in their 4-1 win over Jagiellonia in their Europa League qualifier on Thursday, Soccernet.ng reports.
Akpom has had a slow start to the season at Ajax, failing to find the net in his first six games of the season. However, the former Arsenal man got his breakthrough on Thursday in Ajax’s 4-1 win over Jagiellonia at the Stadion Miejski.
Ajax fell behind just five minutes into the game, but Akpom replied five minutes later to make it square. Then, Mika Godts scored in the 28th minute to give the Godenzonen the lead.
Akpom gave Ajax a two-goal cushion in the 61st minute, before completing his first-ever hattrick for the club from the penalty spot in the 69th minute.
After the game, Ajax boss Francesco Farioli was quite impressed with Akpom’s display, stating that the Nigerian merited his goals because of his consistency.
“I am very happy for Chuba. He gave us a lot in this match. He was unlucky in the last duels. Balls just didn’t go in. As a striker, you sometimes need a bit of luck. Now he got everything he deserved,” Farioli said.
Ajax play the return leg in Amsterdam next week, and Akpom is almost sure of a starting shirt again. He will be looking to add to his tally and solidify his place at Ajax.