AZ Blast Sparta, Reach UECL Quarter-Finals

AZ advance to Conference League quarter-finals

AZ beats Sparta Prague 4-0 (6-1 aggregate), reaching UEFA Conference League quarter-finals for the first time since 2014.

AZ seemed content to consolidate the result, with only Alexandre Penetra coming close to a second Dutch goal...

AZ ran riot in Prague, beating Sparta 4-0 (6-1 aggregate) to reach the UECL quarter-finals.

The Dutch side had a 2-1 win from last week's first leg, and they built on that momentum in the return match.

Perfect performance from AZ 🤩#UECL pic.twitter.com/8FbaSrQn5X

— UEFA Conference League (@Conf_League) March 19, 2026

AZ enjoyed a true dream start in the epet ARENA after Kees Smit found Isak Jensen near Sparta's box, setting the Danish winger up for a one-on-one. Jensen teed it up for his right foot and zipped the ball in Jakub Surovčík's far corner to open the scoring in the eighth minute.

With everything still to play for, Sparta Prague played an anonymous first half with very few minor chances. The Czech giants recorded just two attempts after the second minute, both of which couldn't test Jeroen Zoet.

AZ seemed content to consolidate the result, with only Alexandre Penetra coming close to a second Dutch goal. Penetra failed to place his header between the posts, keeping Sparta in the game.

The team of interim manager Lee-Roy Echtold looked to have put the game beyond doubt when Irish hero Troy Parrott doubled AZ's lead. Parrott had an easy finish from a pinpoint Denzo Kasius cross, giving AZ a three-goal aggregate lead with 30 minutes left.

AZ's rout continued minutes later when Sven Mijnans put the final nail in Sparta's coffin with a rocket from distance. Surovčík could only watch as it sailed into the net for 3-0.

The epet ARENA finally saw a Sparta goal after 67 minutes, but it was short-lived. A quick VAR check ruled Matyás Vojta offside, disallowing the goal.

A lightning-quick counter added salt to Sparta's wounds four minutes after Vojta's disallowed goal. Troy Parrott launched Ro-Zangelo Daal deep into Sparta's half, and Daal rolled the ball into an empty net, adding an exclamation mark to AZ's remarkable evening.

AZ calmly wrapped up the win, reaching their first European quarter-finals since 2014.

The Alkmaar side will play Shakhtar Donetsk or Lech Poznan on April 9th and 16th, after also reaching the Dutch Cup final in April.

AZ are in the #UECL quarter-finals ❤️ pic.twitter.com/kYX2ADuntc

— UEFA Conference League (@Conf_League) March 19, 2026