Pedro (l) scored for Lazio in their 2-1 Europa Conference League defeat by AZ Alkmaar. -AP
Dutch club AZ Alkmaar have rallied from a goal down to upset Lazio 2-1 in their Europa Conference League round-of-16 first leg.
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Lazio, who last weekend beat runaway Serie A leaders Napoli, took the lead in the 18th minute with a strike from former Spain, Barcelona and Chelsea forward Pedro Rodriguez, playing in a face mask after breaking his nose.
The visitors, who have lost just one of their last 12 games in all competitions, recovered from a slow start and equalised through Vangelis Pavlidis shortly before halftime.
Defender Milos Kerkez scored the winner in the 62nd minute.
"This was a bit of a fluke result because we created a lot of chances and conceded from both of theirs," Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri said.Â
"The string of missed chances tonight is too long."
AZ coach Pascal Jansen insisted he was not surprised to get the win in Rome "because I know what my team can do".
The rest of the matches in the third-tier Europa Conference League will take place on Thursday (Friday AEDT) with the return legs on March 16.
Lazio's match was on Tuesday because Roma will play at home in the Europa League on Thursday in same stadium.
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