Enzo Le Fée Leads Team to Victory Over AZ
Enzo Le Fée turned a nightmare into a match-winning performance as his side edged past AZ, with Robin Roefs and a dominant back line standing tall on a tense European night.
Roefs sets the tone
Before Le Fée could grow into the game, he needed saving. Literally.
A slack early pass from the midfielder handed AZ a golden one-on-one chance, but Roefs read it, spread himself and blocked with his foot. It was a huge moment. AZ had broken through the lines, the finish looked certain, and suddenly the tone of the evening flipped.
Roefs wasn’t done. Late on, with bodies flying everywhere in the six-yard box, he hurled himself at a loose ball and smothered it amid the chaos. Two big stops, two big turning points. An 8/10 display built on sharp reactions and total concentration.
Back line holds firm
Nordi Mukiele played like a man who had been given the entire right flank and told to own it. He surged up and down all night, tormenting AZ in the first half with aggressive runs and direct play. After the break he rose well to meet a cross and sent a header just wide, a reminder he was a threat in both directions. Another 8/10, full of energy and intent.
Inside him, Kevin Danso quietly put together another commanding performance. He read danger early, stepped in with key blocks and clearances around the box, and still found time to almost score at the other end. He diverted a header just wide after reacting to a wayward Granit Xhaka shot and later forced the goalkeeper into action with a powerful effort from distance. An assured 8/10 from a defender who never looked rattled.
Omar Alderete brought steel while he could. Strong in the tackle and composed under pressure, he turned out of the AZ press with authority a few times. But an early knock cut his night short, leaving him on a 7/10 and his team briefly reshuffling.
On the left, Reinildo had to live with being pinned back. AZ overloaded his side, forcing him to defend first and second balls rather than bomb on. He rarely got forward, but he did the dirty work well, locking down his flank for a solid 7/10.
Xhaka’s control, then AZ’s response
For 45 minutes, Granit Xhaka ran the show. Sitting deep, he dictated the rhythm, picking passes over and through the AZ press, setting attacks in motion with those familiar, raking balls. After the interval, the picture changed. AZ pushed higher, moved the ball quicker around him and limited his influence. Even so, his first-half control and leadership earned him a 7/10.
Alongside him, Noah Sadiki had one of the toughest tasks on the pitch. AZ’s fluid movement between the lines could have pulled him apart, but he covered huge distances, snapping into challenges and nicking the ball back in key areas. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was vital. Another honest 7/10.
Attack flickers without fully igniting
Trai Hume’s night was one of flashes rather than a full blaze. He curled a first-half effort just wide and then, after the break, saw two quick chances in succession: one low strike saved by the keeper’s legs and a header over from the resulting corner. Outside those moments he drifted out of the game, finishing with a 6/10.
Malick Fofana showed quality on the ball when he saw it, but that was the problem. Too often he received it too deep or surrounded by defenders, with little room to turn and drive. A 6/10 that hinted at more than it delivered.
Wilson Isidor, by contrast, ran the line with purpose. He used the channels, linked well with Le Fée and kept AZ’s centre-backs busy. He spun in behind to tee up Le Fée for the shot that hit the post and later smashed a good chance wide after being cleverly flicked through. A hard-working 7/10 that deserved a goal.
Le Fée’s redemption arc
This was Enzo Le Fée’s game. For better and for worse.
His first contribution was a gift to AZ, a loose pass that should have cost his team dearly. Roefs bailed him out. From that moment, something clicked. Le Fée demanded the ball, dictated attacks and carved AZ open time and again.
He struck the post after a smart cut-back from Isidor, then burst in behind from a Mukiele pass and forced another save. Twice he dropped a gorgeous ball over the top, once for Brian Brobbey and once for Isidor, only for both chances to go begging. Finally, he took matters into his own hands: won the penalty, then buried it. No fuss, no doubt. A 9/10 display, crowned with the winner and the Man of the Match award.
Substitutes shut it down – almost
Dan Ballard stepped in for the injured Alderete and immediately brought clarity to the back line. He was sharp to any hint of danger around the box, throwing himself in front of shots and helping his side see the game out. A composed 7/10 from the bench.
Thomas Meunier had to be flexible. On first, he replaced Hume higher up, then slid back to right-back once Danso departed. In both roles he did his job, kept his side structurally sound and offered a reliable outlet. A steady 6/10.
Nilson Angulo injected some positivity down the left, driving at defenders and trying to make things happen. His decision-making, though, let him down. The big moment came in stoppage time when a rebound fell to him and he really should have scored. A frustrating 6/10.
Brobbey arrived late and only truly came alive in injury time. He combined neatly with Le Fée around the box, only for a defender to intervene and concede a corner. Then he powered forward from halfway, the goal seemingly at his mercy, but chose to square across the six-yard box instead of finishing. A 6/10 that will sting when he replays those moments in his head.
Teenager Chris Rigg added bite in midfield, snapping at AZ’s heels, winning the ball and slipping intelligent passes into Brobbey. Another 6/10, but full of promise.
On a night defined by fine margins, it was Roefs’ saves at one end and Le Fée’s nerve at the other that drew the line between relief and regret. If this is the standard they can sustain, how far can this side really go in Europe?
