Goals from Jop van der Linden and Vincent Janssen saw AZ Alkmaar beat Medipol Basaksehir 2-0 in the first leg of their Europa League third round qualifier.
- Follow Football-Oranje on Twitter
After scoring ten goals during pre-season, Vincent Janssen was handed his first start up front for AZ, and after 15 minutes the striker was brought down by goalkeeper Volkan Babacan, resulting in a red card and a penalty. Fellow debutante Jop van der Linden stepped up from the spot to make it 1-0.
Against ten men AZ were fully in control, but had to wait until the 63rd minute for a second goal as Janssen fired past substitute keeper Ufuk Ceylan from a Dabney dos Santos pass.
AZ continued to push forward for a third goal, but they failed to take advantage of several chances. John van den Brom’s side must now travel to Turkey next week to finish the job.
Follow
Follow @Footballoranje_ on Twitter
