Arda Turan's Shakhtar played in their first European quarterfinal since 2020, when the Ukrainian giants were knocked out of the UEFA Europa League after a 5-0 drubbing by Inter. Meanwhile, AZ reached the UEFA Conference League quarters for the second time in three years after Anderlecht were beaten after penalties in 2023.
A shock injury to Shakhtar midfielder Isaque halted play as the Brazilian midfielder went down and looked unconscious after an awkward fall together with AZ full-back Seiya Maikuma. Isaque was taken off for treatment, but returned for ten minutes before being taken off permanently.
Attendees in the Synerise Arena in Krakow, Poland, had to wait 44 minutes for the first attempt on goal, which Shakhtar's Alisson accounted for and was saved easily by veteran goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet.
A livelier second half saw the sides exchange chances for Weslley Patati and Kauã Elias, but neither truly threatened to open the scoring.
It seemed unlikely for either side to score, but it was Shakhtar who broke the deadlock after 72 minutes via a wonder goal from Pedrinho, who took the ball on the bounce and produced a moment of magic by burying it in the top corner as the ball kissed the crossbar.
A series of AZ chances fell through on the final pass as Mexx Meerdink was an inch too short to the ball in, a lovely team move ended with a clearance as Shakhtar stopper Dmytro Rinzyk looked all but beaten, and Sven Mijnans had his surprise shot saved.
Not finishing their own chances cost AZ dearly as a loose ball from a corner fell kindly to Alisson, who timed his shot to perfection and buried it in the bottom corner.
A late surge saw Shakhtar take a royal lead with them to Alkmaar as Alisson was the final station of a wonderful attack in the 84th minute.
Shakhtar's late efforts handed them full advantage for next week's return in Alkmaar, where Arda Turan's men will defend a 3-0 lead.
Check out the match statistics on Flashscore
