AZ Alkmaar took a big step towards reaching the quarterfinals of the Conference League. The Dutch representative celebrated after a turnaround in the middle of Rome, against one of the biggest favorites to win this competition – Lazio (2-1).The Italians had the advantage from the 18th minute with the goal of the Spanish veteran Pedro, who scored on a pass from Mattia Zaccagni. The host had the game in their feet in that period, the statistics show that they were more dangerous even when the line was drawn, after the end of 90 minutes, however, the team from Alkmaar is much closer to qualifying among the final eight.##EDITORS_CHOICE##From the end of the first half, the visitors increased the pressure on the backline of Lazio, started to press high, and played much more aggressively, bringing them a concrete result. Unable to get the ball out of their own half – and they insisted to bring the ball up with short passes – the Italians lost the ball twice in the danger zone, which would be followed by a checkmate on the powerless Luis Maximilian.The first goal for the Dutch was scored by Vangelis Pavlidis with an assist from Jesper Karlsson, and a Hungarian of Serbian roots, Miloš Kerkez, took care of the turnaround. It was the 63rd minute when he found the back of the Lazio net.The result did not change until the end…If AZ manage to defend their advantage in the second leg in front of their fans, this will be Alkmaar’s fifth place in the quarter-finals of a European Cup in the 21st century. All four previous ones were in the Europa League, with noting that in 2005 they made it to the semi-finals.AZ’s greatest European success was the final of the UEFA Cup in the 1980/81 season.⏰ RESULT ⏰🔴 Big win for AZ Alkmaar as they go into the second leg with a one-goal lead 💪#UECL— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) March 7, 2023 UEFA CONFERENCE LEAGUERound of 16 – 1st legTuesday Lazio – AZ Alkmaar 1-2 (1-1)/Pedro 18 – Pavlidis 45, Kerkez 62/Thursday 20.45: (5.70) AEK Larnaca (3.60) West Ham (1.67)20.45: (4.40) Sheriff Tiraspol (3.50) Nice (1.95)20.45: (3.60) Anderlecht (3.50) Villareal (2.15)23.00: (1.37) Fiorentina (5.10) Sivasspor (10.0)23.00: (2.05) Lech Poznan (3.50) Djurgarden (3.90)23.00: (1.85) Basel (3.70) Slovan B. (4.60)23.00: (2.15) Gent (3.40) Basaksehir (3.70)***odds are subject to change
