Frank de Boer considered the second yellow card shown to defender Joel Veltman ultimately decided the contest against Barcelona.
The Ajax boss saw his team go down to a 2-0 Champions League defeat against the Catalans at the Amsterdam Arena, but was unhappy with some of the refereeing decisions on the night.
“I think we should have had a penalty in the first half and the sending off decided the match, because in the first half we were in control,” he told Canal Plus.
“Did we deserve more? We deserved more than the defeat we ended up with. We certainly deserved a goal or two, although in the second half Barca came out better.
“The game was over when Veltman got shown a second yellow but we can be happy with the opening half.”
Nonetheless, the Dutchman thought his team did not show enough consistency over the full 90 minutes.
“It’s very difficult at this level. The first five minutes we started badly but then gained in confidence, but all the team had their ups and downs.
“In the second half we came out nervously. But I wanted to see a team that would give 100 per cent and that is what I saw.
“I’m happy with the players, although I think we missed an opportunity to take something positive from the game,” he asserted.
