Late AZ rally falls short as Juventus hold on in Alkmaar

AZ suffered a narrow 2-1 defeat by Juventus after their late comeback fell short at the AFAS Stadion. Lee-Roy Echteld’s side entered the closing stages two goals behind but placed the Italian visitors under sustained pressure during a frantic finish in Alkmaar.

AZ had opportunities to reduce the deficit before eventually scoring. Kees Smit fired over from a promising central position in the 73rd minute, while the officials rejected the home side’s penalty appeal three minutes later after Elijah Dijkstra went down with Lloyd Kelly’s arm on his shoulder. Ro-Zangelo Daal then had a shot deflected wide, before substitute Ismail Oufkir was denied at the near post.

The breakthrough arrived in the 88th minute. Dijkstra reached the byline and cut the ball back for Mexx Meerdink, who finished into an empty net to make it 2-1. AZ appeared to have completed the comeback in the first minute of added time when Mees de Wit found the net, only for the goal to be disallowed because Meerdink had been offside during the first phase of the attack.

There was still time for one final AZ push. Smit delivered a late free-kick with goalkeeper Dani de Busser joining the attack, but Juventus cleared and held on for the victory. The result left AZ without a reward from their home fixture in the fourth round of the Europa League.