AZ -19 plays Atlético Madrid off the mat at times and reaches the eighth finals

AZ Under 19 has managed to qualify for the eighth finals of the Youth League. Michael van Zijtveld's team won 1-0 against Atlético Madrid. Before half time, Yoël van den Ban scored the deserved opening goal. AZ in particular had chances after the break, but neither side would score anymore. AZ's opponent in the next round will be announced on Friday. The draw will then be made in Nyon.

AZ started the game in Wijdewormer fantastically and almost rewarded itself with a very special goal. Dave Kwakman let the ball roll a few meters over the center line, and then scored fantastically. The midfielder saw his shot from just under 45 meters end up on the crossbar behind the hopeless Atlético goalkeeper Salvi Esquivel. Moments earlier, the Madrilenians also got away well, when Anthony Smits hit the post after a nice combination.

AZ remained the dominant party and got what it was looking for halfway through the first half. After a deep ball from Enoch Mastoras, Smits enjoyed the necessary space on the right side. Elijah Dijkstra dived into the hole and received the ball from Smits, after which Kwakman was the next station. The midfielder made a perfect pass to Van den Ban, who scored his fourth goal this season in the Youth League from close range: 1-0.

Atlético slowly but surely got better into the match and that led to some dangerous-looking attacks from the Spaniards. It led to a riot five minutes before halftime involving Salim El Jebari and Mastoras, after they ended up against the boards next to the AZ goal. The two stood with their heads together and both received a yellow card from referee Chrysovalantis Theouli.

In the remainder of the first half, Alejandro Monserrate Pueyo received a yellow card for a hard foul on Mastoras. Not much later, El Jebari was sent into the boarding by Kees Smit. The tension between both teams was palpable. Fortunately, after the break it was all about football again. AZ regained the initiative, but despite some nice actions by Ro-Zangelo Daal and Smits, the last bit of luck needed was missing. On the other hand, Julio Díaz forced AZ goalie Tristan Kuijsten to make a last-ditch save.

AZ became stronger and showed excellent football at times. Smit got the chance to shoot after a short combination with Van den Ban, but this time Esquivel had an answer. The Alkmaarders dominated possession and entered into some nice combinations. Nevertheless, coach Fernando Torres' team held out, meaning they could continue to hope for an extended stay in the Youth League.

In the final phase, Atlético stepped up their game again and the score was almost 1-1. Adrián Niño shot accurately towards the far corner and Kuijsten was just able to get a hand against the excellent effort of the nineteen-year-old Spaniard. On the other hand, AZ continued to have opportunities to close the game. Daal saw his shot turned towards the short corner by Esquivel. Niño scored a dangerous header from a corner, but the equalizer would not come again.

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