Late Shakhtar Triple Strike Stunts AZ Alkmaar

On the 9th of April, FC Shakhtar Donetsk and AZ Alkmaar met in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Conference League. For both teams, these matches are very important, because it can give them a spot for the semi-finals. The match took place in Henryk Reyman Municipal Stadium in Kraków, Poland. 

(Image credit to goal.com)

AZ Alkmaar arrived in Poland excited for this match after their recent success in Europe, but they found it difficult to find the right place to score. Despite a good effort to keep possession of the ball, the Alkmaar defence was struggling with the attacks of the home team.

The line-ups for this match were:

FC Shakhtar Donetsk: Riznyk, Bondar, Azevedo, Matvienko, Tobias, Newertton, Ocheretko, Silva, Pedrinho, Elias, Alisson

AZ Alkmaar: Zoet, Duijl, De Wit, Maikuma, Penetra, Goes, Mijnans, Smit, Patati, Sadiq, Parrot

First half

The match started with high intensity for both sides, but both teams weren't able to find a break in the other team's defence. Shakhtar was forced to make an early switch in players in the 24th minute after Isaque was injured, but even after that, the home team found it difficult to get through AZ’s defence.

AZ held a good amount of ball possession and looked strong throughout the first half, but the first half ended in a 0-0 as both teams were focusing on defence rather than attacking.

(Image credit to sportnieuws.nl)

Second half

The first goal fell in the 72nd minute, scored by Pedrinho to create a 1-0 lead for Shakhtar. This score didn’t last long, with the team scoring again after a corner. Alisson scored the goal, and it became a 2-0 lead for the Ukrainian club. In the 83rd minute, Alisson scored another goal with the assist of Traoré and Eguinaldo, which made the match a 3-0 result.

When the final whistle blew, that confirmed the 3-0 victory for Shakhtar Donetsk. While the standing was level for over an hour, Shakhtar's impressive precision in the last twenty minutes was the deciding factor for this match.

AZ Alkmaar will now need to focus on the second leg of the quarter-finals of the Conference League, which is being played on the 16th of April, at AFAS Stadium in Alkmaar. They will improve their play if they want to win this aggregation and move on to the semi-finals.  

Article written by Zoë Wokke