AZ's Europa League Opener: Missed Chances and Meerdink's Struggles
Khalid Boulahrouz walked away from AZ’s Europa League opener with one clear conclusion: this was a game they should never have lost.
AZ went down 1-0 to Sunderland, but the scoreline barely told the story. The Dutch side carved out enough chances to take at least a point, probably more, and still came up empty. At the heart of the post-match debate stood Mexx Meerdink.
A Miss That Defined the Night
With ten minutes left, AZ finally carved Sunderland open. Meerdink found himself with the kind of chance strikers dream about: time, space, and the goal at his mercy. He hesitated. One touch too many, one second too long. His shot stayed low and tame, and Robin Roefs’ outstretched leg did the rest.
For Boulahrouz, watching on in the Ziggo Sport studio, it was unforgivable at this level.
“At this level, at least one of them has to go in,” he said, summing up a night of squandered opportunities for AZ.
He zoomed in on that late chance. The finish, he argued, betrayed a lack of ruthlessness.
“This chance from Meerdink. It is just hit too weakly, low to the ground. If you are ruthless, you just smash it into the roof of the net,” Boulahrouz insisted. “Theo (Janssen) rightly said: you have to become a killer as a striker. Especially if he wants to get to the Netherlands national team. Then these are the chances in which you can set yourself apart.”
The frustration ran deeper than a single miss. For Boulahrouz, the extra touch Meerdink took said everything.
“Delaying it once more, taking another touch, that means you are not quite in the right position yourself. Because of that, you can no longer strike it the way you want. This is simply wasting a 100 per cent chance,” he said, clearly irritated. “These are things he really has to cut out. Looking at the whole match, he was simply too sloppy, not good as a focal point... And the chances he got, you have to finish them.”
Meerdink Holds His Hands Up
To his credit, Meerdink did not hide. He faced the cameras and admitted his own shortcomings.
“I think at some moments I lost the ball a bit too easily, but I also had a number of good moments. My area for development is that I have to keep doing it consistently,” he reflected.
On the decisive miss, there was no attempt to dress it up.
“That ball at the end, I have to smash it in. Not think and just hit it with the instep. In the box I have to be, become, deadly,” he said, echoing the criticism coming from the studio.
Janssen Questions the Hunger
Just when it sounded like player and pundits were aligned, Theo Janssen pushed back on one key point: Meerdink’s own assessment of his display.
“Interesting. He has the feeling that he still played quite a decent match. He is quite satisfied,” Janssen remarked, picking apart the striker’s interview.
The former midfielder did not sugar-coat his view.
“I would advise him to calmly watch this match back again, because it comes down to a number of moments in which, as a striker, you have to be deadly and in which you have to be strong to give your team some calm. Those few moments are not enough, my friend,” he said bluntly.
Janssen sees the talent. That, in his eyes, is what makes nights like this so frustrating.
“He is a very enjoyable footballer, he is technically refined, has all the attributes to be a good player. Only he lacks that hunger. You have to do everything for it,” Janssen concluded. “He must always give everything for it, and I miss that a little with him sometimes. He has so much potential, but he is not getting everything out of it.”
AZ leave their opener empty-handed, ruing missed chances and a striker still learning the brutal edge of European football. The question now is simple: how long can a player with Meerdink’s potential afford to wait before that “killer” instinct finally arrives?
