AZ Alkmaar 5-2 Go Ahead Eagles: a side in full flow keeps rolling

Some teams grind out their good runs; AZ Alkmaar are entertaining their way through theirs. This 5-2 win extended a run of five straight victories, and it came in the manner that has defined their form — plenty of goals, front-foot football, and a willingness to trade blows and back their attack to win the exchange. The AFAS Stadion has become a happy hunting ground, and a side brimming with confidence made light work of a Go Ahead Eagles team that could not live with them over ninety minutes.

Ro-Zangelo Daal was the standout, scoring twice — once in the 35th minute and again late on to seal the win — as AZ's attack clicked through the gears. Dave Kwakman opened the scoring inside seven minutes and turned provider for Daal, while Lewis Schouten and Mateo Chávez also found the net. Five different phases of the game brought five goals, the sign of an attack humming with movement and ideas rather than relying on any single source of threat.

Go Ahead Eagles did not simply roll over. Victor Edvardsen levelled at 22 minutes and Mathis Suray struck at the death, and the visitors' 1.82 expected goals show they carried genuine threat of their own. But AZ's 2.39 xG from 20 shots — eight on target — reflected the greater and more sustained danger. Every time the game threatened to tighten, the hosts found another goal to restore their cushion, which is exactly what in-form sides tend to do.

Five wins in a row breeds the kind of belief that turns half-chances into goals and nervy moments into routine ones. AZ look a side enjoying their football, and results like this — scoring five, entertaining the crowd, brushing aside a decent opponent — are how a season gathers pace. Go Ahead Eagles will feel they contributed to a fine game of football, but on the day they simply met a team riding a wave they could not stop.