Welcome to our live blog about the Premier League match:
- Started: AZ – Ajax 1-0
Ruben van Bommel goes to the side and Mayckel Lahdo relieves him. Lahdo scored the winning goal against Heracles Almelo last week.
Troy Parrott scores the goal on a pass from Peer Koopmeiners. It was inevitable.
Ernest Poku gives it a try from a distance. The ball has an annoying bounce, but Remko Pasveer pushes the ball to the side.
Steven Berghuis gives a free kick straight ahead and Wout Weghorst heads in. However, the ball goes over the line via his arm. So no goal for Ajax…
Ruben van Bommel makes a good solo and is not tackled by Ajax’s defenders. However, his shot hits the post again, Ajax is very lucky again.
Initially, referee Robin Nagtegaal gives Seiya Maikuma a yellow card, but the foul was by Wouter Goes. The VAR corrects the referee’s error.
Will there be goals after half-time? The ball rolls again in Alkmaar. Both teams are unchanged.
Ruben van Bommel, last season’s standout, shoots a free kick from 25 meters wide of Ajax’s goal. It is also immediately peaceful in Alkmaar.
We have two minutes left in this first half.
Davy Klaassen loses the ball to Peer Koopmeiners and he sends Ernest Poku deep. However, the young winger shoots straight at Remko Pasveer. From the subsequent corner, Jordy Clasie’s volley goes wide.
First, Wout Weghorst gets a yellow card after an unnecessary foul on Wouter Goes and a little later Anton Gaaei makes a pass on Ruben van Bommel. The Dane barely touches the AZ winger and does not receive a card for referee Robin Nagtegaal.
A shot by Sven Mijnans is blocked and lands on Troy Parrott’s chest. The Irishman puts the ball in front of Ruben van Bommel and he hits the ball against the post next to Remko Pasveer.
David Møller Wolfe luckily gets the ball after a sliding tackle from Steven Berghuis. However, the ball goes behind Ajax’s goal. The VAR still checks a possible handball, but we are playing football again.
There is the first free shooting opportunity for Troy Parrott. The Irishman gets the ball after an action by Ernest Poku, but his shot is blocked.
AZ and Ajax continue to scan each other until now in Alkmaar.
No spectacular moments yet in Alkmaar, hopefully it is the calm before the storm.
The ball rolls in Alkmaar. Who will be the winner of this edition of the North Holland derby?
Steven Berghuis visits his old club. He played 92 games and scored 21 goals for AZ between 2012 and 2015. Berghuis can now play against AZ for the seventeenth time. He scored five times in matches with the Alkmaarders: once for Ajax, four times for Feyenoord.
Wout Weghorst also has a past in Alkmaar. He scored 45 goals in 86 official matches for AZ between 2016 and 2018. Weghorst played four Eredivisie matches against AZ, all of which he lost with Heracles Almelo. Owen Wijndal played 105 matches at AZ between 2017 and 2022 and came to Ajax in 2022.
For Davy Klaassem, there is no other club he has scored against more often than AZ. He has scored eight times against the Alkmaarders, seven of which in the competition. He only scored as many goals in the competition against Willem II.
By the way, Klaassen can score his hundredth goal for Ajax in all competitions. This would make him the fourth player for Ajax this century after Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (158), Luis Suárez (111) and Dusan Tadic (105).
Of the last six mutual competition meetings in Alkmaar, Ajax only won in 2021, 0-3 thanks to goals from Anthony, Davy Klaassen and David Neres. AZ won the last two meetings.
Welcome to our live blog this Sunday. There is football in the Premier League with the North Holland derby, but there is plenty of other regional top sport. So don’t miss anything.