Chávez levels, Meerdink wins it as AZ rallies past Groningen 4–3

The November 8, 2026 match at AFAS Stadion ended AZ’s four-game wait for an Eredivisie victory. Meerdink scored twice, answering Groningen’s early opener and then delivering the winner at 90+1. Between those goals, AZ fell two behind, Oufkir began the recovery and Chávez brought the teams level in the 76th minute. AZ’s first lead was also the final score.⁠2⁠6⁠13⁠18

It was a comeback worth celebrating, but not an ending that can be tidied into an uncomplicated triumph. Dutch broadcaster NOS described the decisive penalty as disputed and reported that Groningen finished with nine players. Those circumstances belong in the account alongside AZ’s recovery; neither cancels out the other.⁠18

The first exchange offered little warning of how much work AZ would eventually need to do. Ondrejka put Groningen ahead in the second minute, and Meerdink answered in the ninth. That left the match level at halftime, with neither side carrying a scoring advantage into the second half.⁠6⁠13

Groningen changed that quickly. Willumsson scored in the 47th minute, then Van Bergen made it 3–1 in the 54th. In the opening nine minutes of the half, a level contest had become a two-goal problem for the hosts. To win from there, AZ needed three goals without another reply.⁠6⁠13

Oufkir supplied the first in the 61st minute. His goal mattered not simply because it reduced the deficit, but because it did so only seven minutes after Groningen had stretched their lead. AZ still trailed, yet the visitors’ two-goal cushion had been cut in half well before the closing stages.⁠6

Fifteen minutes later, Chávez completed the recovery to 3–3. Récord’s account describes the Mexican defender participating in a collective move, attacking an inside channel and finishing left-footed inside Groningen’s penalty area. It was an attacking contribution from a defender at the moment AZ needed one, removing the last of a lead Groningen had built so rapidly after halftime.⁠1

Chávez’s goal was the equalizer, not the winner—a distinction that gives both him and Meerdink their proper place in this match. Chávez restored the possibility of taking all three points; AZ still needed another finish to turn that possibility into victory. Groningen, meanwhile, still had a draw to protect despite surrendering their advantage.

Récord reports that AZ continued attacking after drawing level. The decisive opportunity arrived in stoppage time, when Meerdink converted from the penalty spot. Scorefoot and ScoreBlink record the goal at 90+1: the first minute of second-half added time. His second goal of the match put AZ ahead for the first time, too late for Groningen to recover.⁠1⁠6⁠9

The penalty settled the score, not the argument over the decision. NOS’s reporting identifies the award as contentious, but the available accounts do not establish a definitive resolution of that controversy. Nor do they provide enough verified detail here to explain the precise reasons for Groningen’s dismissals. A nine-player finish should not become a substitute for an account of what happened.⁠18

For Chávez, the clearest measure of his contribution is the scoreboard at the moment he scored: 3–3, with a home victory still available. Récord reports that he remained on the pitch until the 96th minute, when Mees de Wit replaced him. By then, Meerdink’s penalty had turned the equalizer into part of a winning comeback.⁠1

For Groningen, the loss was stark enough without embellishment: three goals scored away from home, a two-goal lead after 54 minutes, and no points at the finish. For AZ, the three points ended a four-match league winless run. The reward was concrete, even if the manner of securing it remained contested.⁠6⁠18