The round-of-16 game was a rematch from last season, when AZ and Ajax faced off in the same round on the same day.

The evening started horribly for the visitors after conceding the opening goal within two minutes. Czech goalkeeper and Liverpool loanee Vitezslav Jaros failed to catch two balls, the last of which fell favourably to Troy Parrott, who calmly put AZ up one.

After Ajax failed to create a single good chance in the opening 30 minutes, Parrott doubled AZ's lead after receiving a long ball from goalkeeper Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro, which was misjudged by Josip Sutalo. Parrott beat the Croatian defender and coolly put it behind Jaros: 2-0.

Peer Koopmeiners, the younger brother of Juventus midfielder Teun Koopmeiners, all but ended Ajax's hopes of a comeback by scoring AZ's third on the brink of half-time. Midfield talent Kees Smit, who AZ are reportedly demanding €60 million for, added a remarkable fourth just two minutes after the break.

Ajax left-back Owen Wijndal did his previous employer a big favour by picking up a straight red card in the 66th minute, putting the win for the hosts beyond any doubt.

Elijah Dijkstra and Matej Sin got eerily close to the 5-0 before Troy Parrott pulled the trigger and completed his hat-trick, making use of a favourable rebound once again.

Ajax's terrible evening was completed in the 88th minute by Ibrahim Sadiq, who was put in an optimal position by Parrott to score AZ's sixth, handing Ajax their joint-biggest defeat in club history - the 6-0 loss was Ajax's fourth in history and just the second since 1954, following Feyenoord's famous Klassieker thrashing of Ajax in April 2024.

For the second year running, AZ knocked out 20-time winners Ajax in the KNVB Beker. The draw for the quarterfinals takes place on Friday afternoon.

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