AZ suffered a comprehensive 3-0 defeat in the first leg of their Conference League quarter-final against Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday evening in Kraków, Poland. The return leg is scheduled for next Thursday at 6:45 pm in Alkmaar.
Mees de Wit and Seiya Maikuma started as wing-backs for AZ, with the Japanese defender making his first appearance in the starting XI since early February. Ibrahim Sadiq was preferred to Ro-Zangelo Daal on the left wing, as the latter arrived late and began the match on the bench.
Shakhtar, current co-leaders in the Ukrainian league, finished sixth in the Conference League group stage, which spared them the play-offs. In the round of 16 they narrowly edged out Lech Poznan 4-3 on aggregate.
Shakhtar started brightly, yet the opening exchanges were overshadowed by an injury to Brazilian midfielder Isaque, who landed awkwardly and briefly lost consciousness before being substituted in the 25th minute.
Otherwise, the opening 45 minutes were a largely tactical affair, with sporadic threats but no clear-cut chances. Ibrahim Sadiq tested the visitors with a couple of long-range efforts for AZ, while Weslley Patati failed to connect with a cross from the Ghanaian winger. At the other end, Jeroen Zoet produced a smart save to keep out a shot from Alisson Santana.
The second half opened brightly: Pedrinho hit the bar with a free-kick, Patati was denied by Shakhtar goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk, and Zoet saved from Kauã Elias.
Shakhtar dominated and finally broke the deadlock 20 minutes from time when Pedrinho curled a superb long-range effort into the top corner. AZ responded positively, with Sven Mijnans and Mexx Meerdink going close as they hunted an equaliser, yet the Alkmaarders could not find the net.
Shakhtar, however, struck twice in quick succession: Alisson first finished from close range after a corner (2-0), and then calmly tapped in following a slick move (3-0). As a result, AZ must now produce a miracle in next week’s return leg at the AFAS Stadion.