AZ Alkmaar hammered Heracles Almelo 5-0 in the AFAS Stadion to consolidate 2nd place in the table.
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AZ went into the game on the back of six straight victories, but they were held by Heracles in a goalless first half. Bram Castro did well to keep out two Teun Koopmeiners efforts as AZ struggled to break down the visitors defence.
Ten minutes into the second half, AZ broke the deadlock with Alireza Jahanbakhsh’s cross diverted into his own net by Castro. Guus Til thought he had added a second soon after but his goal was disallowed because the referee had already given a free kick for handball.
With fifteen minutes left, Til did double the lead before Jahanbakhsh broke through the defence to add a third soon after. Wout Weghorst fired in the fourth on 85 minutes and Jonas Svensson completed the rout in injury time.
The result means AZ will remain in second regardless of the result in Sunday’s clash between Ajax and PSV. Heracles remain ninth.