AZ Alkmaar embarrassed with 4-0 defeat against Cypriot side AEK Larnaca
AZ Alkmaar suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of AEK Larnaca in Cyprus on Thursday. Maarten Martens’ side were beaten 4-0 with the Cypriot side missing several chances to make the scoreline even worse for the Alkmaarders in the UEFA Conference League.
It was AZ’s biggest defeat in a European game since they were beaten 4-0 by English side Manchester United in the 2019-20 season, according to statistics agency Opta.
AZ’s game was effectively over in the second minute. A late challenge from Alexandre Penetra resulted in a straight red card for the Portuguese center back.
Despite this setback, it was an alarmingly poor mentality that Martens' side showed. The young Alkmaar side seemed to give up the minute the red card was brandished by the referee, Daniel Schlager.
Larnaca began their onslaught on the Alkmaar goal in the 24th minute. First, a long-distance shot from Waldo Rubio hit the crossbar before Riad Bajic headed a cross onto the bar straight after.
This came a minute before Rubio got the home side’s first goal. A cross from Godswill Ekpolo found Bajic, who won every header with ease all game. His attempt was saved by AZ keeper Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro, but Rubio was on hand to convert the rebound.
Owusu-Oduro made a double stop to prevent Rubio and Bajic from doubling the lead before halftime. But the second goal came in the 54th minute anyway. A short corner was eventually chipped into the box, and Bajic rose to nod it home from close range.
Larnaca made it 3-0 in the 73rd minute. AZ gave the opponents tons of space, and they exploited it with a fantastic pass from Yerson Chacón, finding Djordje Petrovic, who had only come on a minute earlier. The striker converted the opportunity.
The final goal came ten minutes later. A corner was headed out to the edge of the area, where Marcus Rohden smashed it high into the net.
The match will have done nothing to alleviate the pressure on Martens. Some AZ supporters have been disappointed with the start to the season. The Alkmaarders are currently fifth in the Eredivisie table, but they have not won in their last three games.
The defeat continues the Dutch teams’ poor form in European competition thus far. The Dutch sides have scored four goals and conceded 21 times in the 11 games they have played in the main phase of the competitions.
