AZ Alkmaar have thrown a spanner into the Eredivisie title race with a shock 2-1 victory over Ajax in Amsterdam.
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Noussair Mazraoui missed the game for Ajax but Dusan Tadic returned after an injury ruled him out of the midweek victory over Sporting Club de Portugal.
AZ Alkmaar turned up in Amsterdam with a plan to keep it tight and it worked as Ajax failed to have a shot in the opponent’s area during the first half. At the other end, Dani de Wit went close with a header.
Five minutes into the second half, AZ stunned the hosts as Yukinari Sugawara’s cross landed at the feet of Vangelis Pavlidis, who found the top corner. Owen Wijndal thought he had made it 2-0 straight after but his goal was disallowed for offside.
Peter Vindahl Jensen made an excellent save to deny Ajax striker Sebastien Haller, but the striker did eventually make it 1-1 in the 73rd minute.
Ajax went looking for the winner but it was AZ Alkmaar who sealed the three points as Zakaria Aboukhlal rounded off a good move.
In the 95th minute, Ajax had the ball in the net but Perr Schuurs saw his goal disallowed for offside following a VAR review.
Ajax remains top but they could be second if PSV defeats NEC Nijmegen. AZ Alkmaar is now in 8th.
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