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play_arrow1 clip- 9′Ajax, goal:1–0assist
- 26′AZ Alkmaar, yellow card:Foul
- 30′Ajax, yellow card:Foul
- 38′Ajax, substitution:off
- 44′AZ Alkmaar, yellow card:Foul
- Half-time1 – 0
- 46′AZ Alkmaar, substitution:off
- 60′Ajax, substitution:off
- 60′Ajax, substitution:off
- 60′AZ Alkmaar, substitution:off
- 74′Ajax, substitution:off
- 74′Ajax, substitution:off
- 78′AZ Alkmaar, substitution:off
- 78′AZ Alkmaar, substitution:off
- 85′AZ Alkmaar, substitution:off
- Full-time1 – 0
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Ajax
AZ Alkmaar
Match report
Arokodare's early goal gives Ajax 1-0 win over AZ Alkmaar
Ajax beat AZ Alkmaar 1-0 at the Johan Cruijff Arena on Eredivisie matchday 11, a result that lifted them from third to second in the table. The win was their fourth in a row, and it came from a single goal scored early in the first half.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data.
Tolu Arokodare struck in the ninth minute, finishing from a delivery by A. Ouazane to make it 1-0. That proved to be the only goal of the evening. Ajax had won their previous game 2-1 at Sparta Rotterdam, while AZ had lost 2-0 at home to Twente last time out.
AZ finished the match with the greater share of the play, with 19 shots to Ajax's 9, five of them on target to two, and eight corners to one. They held 52% of the possession. Ajax, though, protected their advantage through to the final whistle, and Marc-André ter Stegen was the home side's best-rated player.
Ajax finished the night on 24 points, four clear of fifth-placed AZ on 20. Both sides turn to European action next, on Thursday 5 November: Ajax visit FC Midtjylland in the UEFA Europa Conference League, while AZ host Juventus in the UEFA Europa League.
Marc-André ter Stegen earned the highest rating of any player, 8.28, as Ajax kept AZ at bay despite being outshot. Tolu Arokodare, rated 8.20, scored the winner.
AZ Alkmaar had 19 shots to Ajax's 9 but could not find a way past the home defence.
Ajax beat AZ Alkmaar 1–0 (half-time 1–0).
Ajax met AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie (Regular Season - 11). Kick-off was Saturday, 31 October 2026, 20:00 UTC at Johan Cruijff Arena. Referee: Allard Lindhout.
Team pages: Ajax · AZ Alkmaar · Eredivisie
Key moments
- 9' Goal: Tolu Arokodare (assist: A. Ouazane) — 1–0 · Watch Tolu Arokodare's goal video (9')
Starting line-ups
Ajax (4-3-3)
AZ Alkmaar (4-2-3-1)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave Ajax 47%, the draw 25%, AZ Alkmaar 28%. It finished Ajax 1–0 AZ Alkmaar.
Home advantage gives Ajax a slight edge — Our strength rating has almost nothing between the sides, so home advantage is the main reason we give Ajax 47%, though their scoring running ahead of their chances pulls a little towards AZ Alkmaar. The draw sits at 25%, below the usual 27.5% for evenly matched sides, mostly because both teams' recent games average 3.6 goals.
Why Ajax in front?
Home ground, and little else. Almost nothing between them on our strength rating — 1712 to 1677. Sides this close won 46.0% of 14,561 home games (draw 27.5%, visitors 26.6%).
Why only 47%?
Because on our strength rating there is nothing in it. Ajax scored +0.43 goals per game beyond chance-quality — home sides this hot gave some of it back. Opponents of hot-finishing home sides won 28.6% of 1,663 games, vs 27.9% against normal finishing.
Why the draw at 25%?
Between sides this level the draw starts at 27.5%. These teams' recent games average 3.6 goals — a high-scoring environment. Games in that environment drew 23.2% of 18,505. The goals environment takes 2.4 points off the draw.
What did we measure but not count?
Ajax are 1 game into a new manager (Míchel), appointed 6 days ago. The famous new-manager bounce doesn't survive its receipt: sides with a new manager beat their rating by 0.9 points over 33,420 games — but sides on an equally bad run who kept their manager beat it by 2.4 over 31,777. AZ Alkmaar won 4 of the last 6 meetings with Ajax. The record is 4 wins for AZ Alkmaar, 2 draws and 0 wins for Ajax. These were 4 Eredivisie games and 2 KNVB Beker games played at both grounds between 8 December 2024 and 8 February 2026. AZ Alkmaar are unbeaten in the last 12 meetings between the sides (8 wins, 4 draws), a run going back to December 2021. Latest meeting: 8 February 2026 — AZ Alkmaar 1–1 Ajax. In 6,096 historical matches between similarly rated teams, visiting sides with the stronger head-to-head record won 28.2%.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the Ajax vs AZ Alkmaar final score and result, goal highlights and video clips of every goal, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this Eredivisie fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
Watch the goals: goal highlights and video clips of every goal from Ajax 1–0 AZ Alkmaar. Explore more on the Ajax and AZ Alkmaar team pages or the Eredivisie page.