AZ puts pressure on Feyenoord after victory over Go Ahead, Twente not past Vitesse | Football

---

Jan 25, 2023 at 8:43 PMUpdate: 2 minutes ago

AZ took the lead in the Eredivisie for at least a few hours on Wednesday evening. The team of trainer Pascal Jansen won 1-4 against Go Ahead Eagles in Deventer and passed leader Feyenoord. In Arnhem, number four FC Twente failed to beat Vitesse: 2-2.

Feyenoord can pass AZ later in the evening if it plays at least a draw against NEC. Before the start of the game in De Kuip, which starts at 9 p.m., the team from Rotterdam is one point behind the team from Alkmaar.

In Deventer, AZ had little trouble dealing with Go Ahead, which was unbeaten in eleven games in a row until Wednesday evening. Vangelis Pavlidis opened the score in the final phase of the first half and Djordje Mihailovic made 0-2 in the 57th minute.

Yukinari Sugawara, who provided the assists for the first two goals, scored the third Alkmaar goal just before time. Two more goals were scored in stoppage time. Willum Thór Willumsson made 1-3 in the 92nd minute and the final chord was three minutes later for Zico Buurmeester: 1-4.

Number four FC Twente failed to catch up with Feyenoord, although coach Ron Jans’ team started the match against Vitesse well. A striking penalty from Ricky van Wolfswinkel made it 0-1 after half an hour, after which Gabriel Vidovic equalized with great luck just before half-time.

After the break, Matus Bero (2-1) and Václav Cerný made it 2-2. In injury time, Twente still seemed to take the win, but a goal by Van Wolfswinkel was rejected due to offside.

Due to the draw, Twente came in points with number three PSV, which surprisingly lost to relegation candidate FC Emmen on Tuesday evening. Leader AZ has four points more than Twente (39 to 35).

Yukinari Sugawara played an important role in AZ’s 1-4 win over Go Ahead Eagles with two assists and a goal. Photo: Pro Shots

AZ has few problems with Go Ahead

In Deventer it took a long time for the game to get going. Pavlidis broke open the game in the 38th minute by promoting Sugawara’s excellent low cross from close range to goal. Two minutes later Pavlidis almost scored again, but this time the Greek headed wide.

On the instructions of Sugawara again, Mihailovic doubled the margin with his first goal in Alkmaar’s service. In the 87th minute it was Sugawara himself who made it 0-3 in a phenomenal way. The Japanese put the ball ready on the edge of the penalty area and hit the far corner.

With that, the game was over, but two more goals were scored in the Adelaarshorst. Sugawara brought down Federico Mattiello, after which Willumsson converted the ensuing staff kick. Buurmeester determined the final score by simply tapping in on Pavlidis’ indication.

AZ will continue the Eredivisie on Saturday with a home match against FC Utrecht. Number ten Go Ahead Eagles will visit PSV on the same day.

Party with the players of FC Twente, but a little later Ricky van Wolfswinkel’s goal is rejected due to offside. Photo: Pro Shots

Twente lacks luck against Vitesse

In Arnhem, the first moment of excitement was only in the 32nd minute when referee Marc Nagtegaal awarded a penalty to Twente. Maximilian Wittek’s foul on Michel Vlap was light, but the VAR saw no reason to intervene. From eleven meters Van Wolfswinkel shot the ball in a controlled manner in the left corner.

Less than ten minutes later, it was already equal in Gelredome Stadium. After fumbling in Twente’s defence, the ball landed at Vidovic’s feet, who luckily managed to find the net from a difficult angle via Robin Pröpper’s leg: 1-1.

Even after the break, the game wavered up and down. Vitesse took the initiative shortly after the break with a nice goal. From a lightning-fast counter, Bartosz Białek lost perfectly to Bero. The Slovak took the ball well and shot the 2-1 under Twente goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall.

Vitesse could not enjoy that lead for long, because eight minutes later it was already equal. Michel Vlap initially seemed to score, but his effort hit the post. The ball then ended up with Cerny, who managed to find the goal with a nice shot.

In injury time, Twente still seemed to grab the three points, but after the intervention of the VAR, a goal by Van Wolfswinkel was rejected. The striker, who received his training in Arnhem and won the KNVB Cup with Vitesse in the 2016-2017 season, was centimeters offside when he tapped the ball into the Arnhem goal from close range.

View the program, the position and the results in the Eredivisie

Image: ANP

---

---

---

Source

---