A Breather Before Halftime

Alvarado exploded off his line. He made himself big with his arms wide, eyes locked on the ball.

Castaignos struck it low, aiming for the bottom corner, but Alvarado got a foot to it!

[What a save!] Ronald roared. [That is massive from Alvarado!]

The ball deflected off his boot and spun out to the right, where Marcellis reacted first, hacking it clear acrobatically before Tadić could pounce.

[AZ Alkmaar are living dangerously,] Erik said, exhaling. [They threw everything forward and almost got punished for it!]

Alvarado, still on the ground, clenched his fists and let out a frustrated yell, knowing how close that had been. His teammates rushed to him, patting his back in appreciation.

[And look at the reaction from the fans,] Ronald added. [They know how big that moment was!]

The stadium, still buzzing from the sequence, erupted into applause.

But there was no time to dwell.