AZ beat Dnipro-1 due to a late winner

AZ finished their Conference League group stage with a win on Thursday over Dnipro-1. The Alkmaarders were already through to the next round but would have lost the top spot had Dnipro-1 beat them. Jens Odgaard and Vangelis Pavlidis scored the goals for Pascal Jansen’s side.

AZ and their Dnipro-1 knew they were through the knockout stages before the match. Dnipro-1 could take first place in the group with a win. AZ only needed a draw to keep the top spot.

AZ made the perfect start through their young striker Jens Odgaard. A cross from Jesper Karlsson was headed into the corner by the 23-year-old Dane.

Karlsson should have had his second assist of the game after half an hour, but Sam Beukema did not do as good of a job finishing the chance as Odgaard did. His header was headed straight at the Dnipro goalkeeper Araujo.

Dnipro leveled right before halftime. An inch-perfect cross was touched into the net by Ukrainian international Artem Dovbyk.

AZ had missed several big chances in the second half before Vangelis Pavlidis finally gave the Alkmaarders the lead. A cross from right back Yukinari Sugawara found Pavlidis in acres of space, and he took full advantage heading the ball into the corner.

AZ will now await their next opponents in the draw for the knockout stages, which is scheduled for Monday.