AZ Alkmaar have been left in a state of ‘disbelief’ after Aston Villa’s winner in their Europa Conference League clash on Thursday.
That’s according to NU, who cover comments from two Alkmaar players and manager Pascal Jansen regarding Aston Villa’s second goal of the game, which came from a corner which shouldn’t have been awarded.
Aston Villa ran out 2-1 winners against the Dutch side on Thursday evening, with goals from Diego Carlos and Ollie Watkins after Vangelis Pavlidis had put the away side ahead.
The game was not without controversy, though, as replays showed that Villa’s first goal, the equaliser from Carlos, should not have stood.
Aston Villa midfielder Boubacar Kamara had mistakenly diverted an effort over from four yards out midway through the second half, but the referee thought otherwise and handed the home side a corner.
Carlos subsequently headed home from that corner to draw Unai Emery’s side level before Watkins then struck in the 81st minute to secure all three points.
That naturally led to some consternation from Alkmaar after the game, with their players and manager all saying the same thing.
“It was not a corner, 100%,” midfielder Jordy Clasie said afterwards. “I immediately said it to the referee. The fact that the ball then flies in from the given corner kick makes it even more sad.”
“It was a human error on the part of the referee, but then the ball should not go in like that afterwards,” Martins Indi added. “We didn’t let ourselves be fooled after that goal. There might even have been more to it. We will take that with us into the future.”
They add that after the final whistle, manager Pascal Jansen visited the referee Luis Godinho to ask for an explanation, with him revealing what was said afterwards.
“He didn’t see it and the linesman was convinced it was a corner,” he reported.
“But then we still have to defend better to prevent that goal. That also applies to the second goal they score.”
