AZ has started the new Eredivisie season with a tie. Coach Arne Slot’s team played a 1-1 draw against PEC Zwolle on Saturday. AZ lost Calvin Stengs early in the game with a red card, but fought back in the second half. The Alkmaarders recovered somewhat from the midweek elimination by Dynamo Kiev in the third preliminary round of the Champions League (2-0 loss). PEC had already opened the Eredivisie season last weekend with a 0-2 defeat against Feyenoord, taking the first point this season.

AZ got off to an awkward start. Pantelis Hatzidiakos, who played for the first time since November last year and started directly in the base, shot the ball up against Mike van Duinen in the build-up, after which Dean Huiberts was able to dribble towards Marco Bizot’s goal. The young midfielder was floored on the edge of the sixteen by Fredrik Midtsjö, after which referee Serdar Gözübüyük awarded a penalty to PEC. Reza Ghoochannejhad was ready to pitch from eleven metres, but Gözübüyük concluded after consulting the video referee (VAR) that Midtsjö’s foul was made just outside the sixteen, resulting in a free kick instead of a penalty. It was then shot into the wall by Thomas Lam, causing AZ to escape an early deficit.

In the seventeenth minute the VAR intervened again, but this time she was less favourable to AZ. Stengs had rashly placed his nubs in Kenneth Paal’s knee during defensive action, after which the young wing attacker was sent off the field with a direct red card by Gözübüyük. For Stengs it meant his first red card in 77 official matches for AZ and only his first card in 49 games in the Eredivisie. With one man less, AZ left the initiative to PEC and got the biggest chance in the game seven minutes before time: a bet from Albert Gudmundsson ended up on the post. A few seconds later Clint Leemans opened the score on behalf of PEC with a shot into the top corner from well outside the sixteen: 0-1.

AZ was halfway through with ten men and was also facing a backlog. Slot’s team refused to throw in the towel early, however, and started the second half in good spirits despite the underachievement. Gudmundsson was close to the equaliser ten minutes after the break, but the Icelander bumped into goalkeeper Michael Zetterer. AZ certainly didn’t stack up a chance, but became increasingly threatening and managed to force the equaliser halfway through the second half. Myron Boadu reacted attentively in the sixteen, after substitute Tijjani Reijnders initially bumped into Zetterer. In the absolute closing stages AZ had the win in their hands after Lam was also sent off with a red kick, but the winning goal did not materialise in the end. At PEC, Borussia Dortmund-enlisted Immanuel Pherai made his debut fifteen minutes before time.