Surprisingly, AZ remained without a point at all from their 1000th Eredivisie game on artificial turf. It was 2-1 at Excelsior, so the malaise in Alkmaar will continue for a while.

After defeats against Apollon Limassol (1-0) and Feyenoord (1-3), AZ hoped to pick up the thread again in Kralingen. That was also necessary in view of the loss of leadership in the past week.

Winning the league might be a step too far, but a win over Excelsior would leave Ajax two points behind.

Contrary to all expectations, this task turned out to be very difficult in Rotterdam. After six minutes, Siebe Horemans headed the ball from a Marouan Azarkan free-kick behind goalkeeper Hobie Verhulst.

AZ, who play little FC Vaduz in Europe on Thursday, then had the most possession and created a few chances. Dani de Wit hit the top of the bar, Pantelis Hatzidiakos and Jesper Karlsson (free-kick) both missed just wide.

On the other hand, AZ had to watch out for outbursts from the well-playing Excelsior, who were also opponents in the KNVB Cup in January. Lazaros Lamprou had a huge chance after a sloppy attempt by Myron van Brederode, but the Greek went wide.

Azarkan strikes

The 2-0 for Excelsior finally fell. Looking for an equaliser, AZ lost the ball up front and were surprised at the back by a nice pass from Lamprou to Azarkan through the heart of the defence. Azarkan then passed Verhulst in a controlled manner.

Coach Pascal Jansen, who was officiating his 100th AZ game, intervened after 38 minutes and made victims of Maxim Dekker and Myron van Brederode. Before them, Yukinari Sugawara and Yusuf Barasi joined the roster, which involved some tactical adjustments.

Shortly after the break, the Alkmaarder showed an improvement. Substitute Sugawara scored the goal after Tijjani Reijnders had been substituted.

The 2:1 gave AZ self-confidence and the equalizer was up in the air several times. De Wit, for example, headed the ball against the post from close range after the hour. Shortly thereafter, Stijn van Gassel converted a bet by Jens Odgaard.

break rhythm

Marinus Dijkhuizen, who was last in charge at Excelsior, tried to break the rhythm of AZ with several substitutions and that seemed to have an effect. Finally, the visitors ran out of time.

Except for a huge chance from substitute Mayckel Lahdo, Excelsior hardly had any problems in the closing stages and clinched their fourth win of the season.

AZ lost for the third time in a row and had to lick their wounds again.