AZ Alkmaar and Willem II shared the points in a 1:1 draw at the AFAS Stadion on Friday evening, a result that keeps the hosts unbeaten through six Eredivisie matches while the visitors remain rooted to the foot of the table. The visitors had not won since the opening day, and by then the contrast between the two sides was stark. AZ sat top with 18 points from six games, Willem II fourth from bottom with 4 from five. And here's the thing — it was not the story anyone expected looking at the form lines.
Jordy Clasie opened the scoring in the 32nd minute, a moment that felt inevitable given AZ's control. Tonny Vilhena had already been booked for Willem II in the 29th, and the visitors' discipline looked fragile. AZ pushed further, creating four big chances against Willem II's one, yet their expected goals of 2.48 did not translate into more than a single lead. Willem II held their nerve for the first hour, which is not nothing against a side that had won five straight.
Devin Haen dragged it back to 1:1 in the 81st minute, and suddenly the match had teeth. The visitors threw everything at it for the closing stages, but AZ held firm. Several substitutions followed — Stengs and Clasie came off together in the 64th, Vilhena and Per van Loon in the 70th — and the game opened into end-to-end fragments. A sell-out crowd at the AFAS had expected goals, but they got something closer to a battle.
The statistics tell a familiar tale: AZ completed 67% of their possession and registered 139 attacks, while Willem II managed 85 with 33% of the ball. The hosts had 15 shots off target and 5 on target, but only one found the net. Willem II had 2 shots on target and 3 off, yet Haen's strike was enough. Shots accuracy sat at 23% for AZ and 25% for the visitors — both sides threw a lot at the goal and found little reward.
What the result means is simple. AZ remain at the summit of the Eredivisie, five wins from six, and fancy their chances of holding that position. Willem II stay in 17th place, still searching for a first victory of the campaign. The gap between them is now 14 points, and the history between them adds an edge to whatever comes next. To be fair, there was nothing in the match to suggest the visitors would break through — but neither did they fold.