AZ hammer SBV Excelsior on final day

AZ finished their season on a high by beating SBV Excelsior 4-1 to clinch third place in the Eredivisie and secure automatic qualification for the Europa League.

The visitors took the lead in the fifth minute when a loose ball in the box was not cleared by the home side and Aron Johannsson found the net in style with an overhead kick.

AZ doubled their lead one minute later with a well-worked move as Johnnsson slid a pass into the feet of Steven Berghius, who took the ball in his stride and slotted it past Jordy Deckers.

The visitors scored their third goal of the afternoon when Markus Henriksen raced onto a ball over the top of the Excelsior defence and took a touch before firing a shot into the bottom corner.

The hosts got a goal back when Jordan Botaka raided down the right and fired a low ball across the face of goal, which Jeffrey Gouweleeuw could only direct past Esteban Alvarado and into his own net.

In the second half, Johannsson put the game beyond doubt when he notched his second goal of the game by latching onto Dabney Souza's cross to power a back-post header past Deckers.