Creatively AZ takes a hard European blow; shutdown is imminent

A tentative start in the sold-out and atmospheric Constant Vanden Stock Stadium. AZ had a hard time getting through Anderlecht’s tight defense. The loss of Jesper Karlsson was palpable. The invisible Myron van Brederode played in place of the Swedish left winger.

Disadvantage

During the first half, the Purple & White handed out more and more teasing punches. A goal was in the air and that happened halfway through the first half. A cross from the right headed in by Michael Murillo. The rising right back won the air duel against Pantelis Hatzidiakos and left goalkeeper Mathew Ryan without a chance.

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After the goal, things did not go much better for Pascal Jansen’s men. Anderlecht defended far from the goal, so that AZ could not become dangerous. In the first half, the AZ team did not shoot on target once. Moreover, the Alkmaar team was sloppy in possession. The mediocre performance of the past few weeks in the competition clearly had an effect in Europe.

Chances

After the break, Jansen sent the same eleven players onto the field. The coach still saw a mediocre AZ in the first few minutes. The pace was slow and there was an unnecessary amount of ball loss. The number four in the Eredivisie did get some opportunities. For example, Vangelis Pavlidis shot on goal once from a difficult angle and after an hour of play, the Greek striker headed well wide from a promising position. A few minutes later, the biggest chance of the match arose for AZ. Sven Mijnans had to score the equalizer after a good cross from Milos Kerkez.

After those moments, AZ seemed to play with a bit more confidence, but it was the home team that scored. With a hard instep kick, Majeed Ashimeru shot the ball into the bottom right corner from the edge of the sixteen-meter area.

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Double switch

That was the moment Jansen intervened with a double substitution. Karlsson and Mihailovic replaced the disappointing Mijnans and Odgaard. The desired effect did not materialize. There was no conviction and creativity was hard to find. The 3-0 was in the air before AZ would make the connection goal.

For example, AZ awaits a very tough job next week. The advantage may be that Karlsson will probably be top fit again at the kick-off. The return in Alkmaar starts at 6.45 pm.

Setup AZ: Ryan; Sugawara, Beukema, Hatzidiakos, Kerkez; Reijnders, Clasie, Mijnans (Mihailovic/75); Odgaard (Karlsson/75), Pavlidis, Van Brederode (Lahdo/84)