Conference League quarter-final second leg: AZ Alkmaar vs Shakhtar Donetsk facts
Friday, April 10, 2026
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Shakhtar Donetsk have one foot in the UEFA Conference League semi-finals as they travel to Netherlands for the second leg of their quarter-final tie with AZ Alkmaar.
Shakhtar, the first Ukrainian team to feature in the last eight of this competition, seized control of the tie with an 11-minute flurry of goals in the first leg at the Municipal Henryk Reyman's Stadium in Krakow on 9 April, goals in the final 20 minutes from Pedrinho (72) and Alisson Santana (81 83) giving them a 3-0 advantage.
AZ were 14th in the league phase having collected ten points, and beat Noah 4-1 on aggregate in the knockout phase play-offs (0-1 a, 4-0 h) before a 6-1 success over two legs against Sparta Praha (2-1 h, 4-0 a).
Shakhtar's 13 points in the league phase was good enough for sixth position in the table, before they secured their quarter-final berth after beating Lech Poznań 4-3 on aggregate in the round of 16 (3-1 a, 1-2 h).
Last match
The teams' only other meetings prior to the first leg came in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup round of 16, AZ winning 3-1 in Ukraine and 2-1 in Netherlands to complete a 5-2 aggregate triumph.
Before defeat in Krakow, AZ had won three of their previous four encounters with Ukrainian clubs, most recently beating Dnipro-1 1-0 in Slovakia and 2-1 in Netherlands during the 2022/23 Conference League group stage. Their record overall is W6 D3 L3.
The Dutch side have won both their two-legged ties against Ukrainian teams, beating Mariupol 4-0 on aggregate in the third qualifying round of the 2019/20 Europa League (0-0 a, 4-0 h). They also faced Dynamo Kyiv in a one‑off Champions League third qualifying round tie in 2020/21, losing 0-2 in Ukraine.
Shakhtar's first-leg win was only their third in ten matches against Dutch teams (D1 L6), the other two coming against Feyenoord in the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League group stage (2-1 a, 3-1 h). That first-leg win in Rotterdam is their only success from five trips to Netherlands, the other four ending in defeat.
Shakhtar have lost all three two-legged ties against Eredivisie teams, most recently 2-8 on aggregate to Feyenoord in the 2022/23 UEFA Europa League round of 16 (1-1 h, 1-7 a).
Including qualifying, AZ are participating in European competition for the eighth successive season. This is their fourth Conference League appearance.
This is AZ's seventh European quarter final and their second in the Conference League. They reached this stage most recently in 2022/23, defeating Anderlecht 4-1 on penalties (0-2 a, 2-0 h aet).
The Dutch side's best European performance was reaching the final of the 1980/81 UEFA Cup, when they lost 4-5 over two legs against Ipswich Town (0-3 a, 4-2 h).
Shakhtar are appearing in their sixth European quarter‑final, having previously reached the last eight of the Cup Winners' Cup, the UEFA Cup/Europa League (three times) and the Champions League. They have won their last two quarter‑finals, both in the Europa League — 6-1 on aggregate against Braga in 2015/16 (2-1 a, 4-0 h) and 4-1 against Basel in their single‑leg tie in 2019/20.
A 2-1 extra-time win against Werder Bremen in Istanbul gave Shakhtar victory in the last UEFA Cup final in 2009, their only European trophy.
Key stats
AZ have won 11 of their last 16 matches in UEFA competition (D1 L4), keeping five clean sheets.
At home AZ are unbeaten in 15 home European games (W13 D2).
AZ have won the second leg in all five Conference League ties this season, scoring 18 goals and conceding only one.
The Dutch club have lost both previous European ties in which they were beaten by a three‑goal margin in the first leg. The only time they suffered an away first-leg losses by three goals was that 1981 UEFA Cup final against Ipswich (0-3 a, 4-2 h).
AZ have won 13 of their last 15 two-legged European ties.
Shakhtar have lost only two of their 17 European games this season (W10 D5).
The Ukrainian side are unbeaten in their eight away Conference League matches in 2025/26 (W6 D2), winning the last five.
Shakhtar have been victorious in all eight European ties in which they won the first leg by three goals.