AZ faces an interesting meeting in the quarterfinals of the Conference League. The Belgian record champion Anderlecht is waiting in Brussels for the first leg and both teams are not in great shape. “There are times when you earn more than you get,” says trainer Pascal Jansen.
AZ finalizes clash with Anderlecht – NH Sport / Stephan Brandhorst
AZ surprisingly eliminated Lazio in the previous round of the Conference League. The Alkmaarders won both games 2-1 against the Italian top club. As a result, the sentiment around the club has changed for the outside world, but then followed a weak series in the competition. AZ only took one point in the last three games and only scored two goals. “Twice the opponent’s keeper was the man of the match, so that says enough. There are times when you earn more than you get. Now it was more difficult, but no more than that. It’s always nice when you can play again soon.”
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AZ coach Pascal Jansen: “Anderlecht is a big club” – NH Sport
Last weekend, Vangelis Pavlidis started on the bench against Sparta. The striker only participated for half an hour. Jesper Karlsson was not at all present, but is in the match selection against Anderlecht. “Health always comes first. The last few days have gone well. Everything looks good. They both came along, but both have been hurt a bit. They can both play and it will show how long they can play.”
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Pascal Jansen about the employability of Jesper Karlsson and Vangelis Pavlidis – NH Sport / Stephan Brandhorst
Opponent Anderlecht is underperforming this season. The record champion is ninth in the league, but Jansen recognizes the top status of the 34-time national champion. “When you walk along the wall here and you see all the cups and trophies they’ve won. You have to respect that.”
Danish school
Since trainer Brian Riemer is at the helm in Brussels, Purple-white hit the road up. The Danish coach has managed to get the fighting spirit back into the team. “It has changed a bit since the new coach arrived. If you can make a performance with Utrecht, you will see a number of overlaps. They also have a Danish coach, so there are some similarities,” says Jansen. “Anderle cannot be compared to Utrecht, but there are some things that are similar in the opinion.”
NH Sport in Brussels
Reporters Erik-Jan Brinkman and Stephan Brandhorst are in Brussels today and tomorrow. They follow everything around the match Anderlecht-AZ. Keep the Twitter page of NH Sport stay tuned for the latest events. Tomorrow a live blog will appear on the website in which you will not miss anything!
The match in the quarterfinals between Anderlecht and AZ starts tomorrow at 9 p.m. in the Astridpark in Brussels. Next Thursday (kick-off at 6.45 p.m.) the return will follow in Alkmaar.