AZ Alkmaar suffered a 1–3 home defeat to NEC Nijmegen in the Eredivisie on Saturday, 31 January 2026. The Matchday 21 fixture kicked off at 15:30 UTC at the AFAS Stadion, with referee Serdar Gozubuyuk of the Netherlands in charge. The score stood at 1–2 at half-time before NEC sealed the win in the second half.

For AZ Alkmaar, the defeat was a damaging blow to their hopes of breaking into the European qualification places. Sitting in mid-table at the time, a home loss to a direct rival like NEC...