On April 20, one of the Conference League soccer matches was held. AZ (Netherlands) and Anderlecht (Brussels) met.
Conference League
AZ (Netherlands) - Anderlecht (Brussels) - 2:0 (2:0)
Goals: Pavlidis (5), Pavlidis (13)
Warnings: T. Reijnders (29), A. Diawara (33), Pavlidis (40), F. Amuzu (55), M. Kerkez (59), S. Mijnans (80)
In the long-awaited UEFA Europa League match between AZ Alkmaar and Anderlecht, the home team won 2-0 at the AFAS Stadium. The match started swiftly when a penalty kick was awarded to AZ Alkmaar in the fifth minute, which was converted by Greek striker Vangelis Pavlidis. Pavlidis then doubled his team's lead in the 13th minute with a superb strike, leaving Anderlecht goalkeeper Nick Guillekens with very few chances. Despite several yellow cards and substitutions in the first half, both sides failed to increase the score, and AZ Alkmaar went into the break in confident control. In the second half, Anderlecht failed to create any meaningful scoring chances.
A missed penalty by Jan Vertonghen in the last minute of extra time summed up their disappointing night. Jordi Clasie of AZ Alkmaar also missed a penalty in the final minutes, but his teammates Yuma Sugawara, Teun Koopmeijners and Mies Meerdink scored their goals, securing a convincing 2-0 victory. The win was a powerful boost for a Dutch team that has had a mixed start to the season, winning one and losing one of its two league games. Anderlecht, meanwhile, would be disappointed with their performance in a crucial match. Overall, it was an exciting soccer match between two talented teams in which AZ Alkmaar proved to be the better side this evening. The fans hope that their teams will play in the same spirit in the upcoming matches.
| AZ | Anderlecht | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Goals on goal | 4 |
| 27 | Strokes | 10 |
| 8 | Blocked kicks | 2 |
| 21 | Kicks from the penalty area | 5 |
| 6 | Kicks from behind the penalty box | 5 |
| 19 | Violations | 7 |
| 3 | Corner | 6 |
| 9 | Offsides | 4 |
| 55% | Ball possession | 45% |
| 5 | Yellow cards | 2 |
| 0 | Red cards | 0 |
| 4 | Saves by goalkeeper | 5 |
| 649 | Total assists | 526 |
| 555 | Accurate passes | 416 |
| 86% | Accuracy of transmissions | 79% |