AZ 2-1 Athletic: Henriksen on target for hosts

A late Aritz Aduriz goal gave the Basque side hope of a comeback in Thursday's Europa League match but John van den Brom's side were able to hold out for the three points

AZ pulled away from Athletic Club in an exciting second-half display in the Netherlands, with the hosts getting their first points on the board in Europa League Group L with a 2-1 win in Thursday. 

Goals from Markus Henriksen and an own goal from Eneko Boveda were enough for the Eredivisie club, with their unlucky opponents floundering in front of goal until Aritz Aduriz's 75th-minute strike. 

It was a case of plenty of ideas and poor execution for the majority of the first half, but Ben Riestra went exceptionally close to breaking the deadlock on the half-hour mark.

The Dutch midfielder found himself in possession on the edge of the box, steering a curling effort onto the crossbar and clear of Iago Herrerrin's flailing arms. Vincent Janssen couldn't convert the rebound, with a combination of the recovering goalkeeper and Inigo Lekue denying the AZ forward.

Coutinho was forced into impressive action on 38 minutes, with the goalkeeper diving well to his right to push a curling effort from Ager Aketxe around the post. The two outfits went into the interval on level terms.

On 55 minutes, Muamer Tankovic was to be the man to unlock the visiting defence. A lovely pass from the Swede found Henriksen in behind enemy lines, with the Trondheim-born midfielder able to slot a neat finish beyond the advancing Herrerin. 

Ten minutes later, the hosts doubled their advantage. Following good combination play between Tankovic and Ridgeciano Haps down the left-hand side, a cross from the latter deflected off Boveda and into the back of the visitors' net.
Ernesto Valverde looked to his bench with good effect, as both Inaki Williams and Aduriz were involved in a consolation goal. A run from the former and a cut back from Boveda allowed the latter to curl an emphatic finish inside the near post from close range.

Williams lit up the final half an hour, going close on several occasions, but Los Leones drop their first points in the Europa League group stage this season.