Ajax boss Peter Bosz has paid tribute to his team following Wednesday's 4-1 win over Lyon in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final.

A brace from Bertrand Traore, and goals from Kasper Dolberg and Amin Younes have handed the Dutch outfit a three-goal advantage ahead of the return match in France next week.

Bosz, who is in his first season as head coach of Ajax, has hailed his players for recording a "beautiful" win, but the 53-year-old insists that the tie is not over.

"It was an odd game. I thought that we were pretty bad in the first 15 to 20 minutes. Lyon put us under pressure and we weren't able to play. It looked like we were tense," Bosz told reporters.

"But in contrast to what we've been doing all season, we converted our first two opportunities. We were suddenly up 2-0. In combination with the fantastic crowd, something beautiful happened.

"We are in a great position, but the first 20 minutes – in which we played poorly – have taught us that we're definitely not there yet. We'll need to give another top performance in Lyon in order to reach the finals."

Manchester United will visit Celta Vigo in the first leg of the competition's second semi-final on Thursday night.