Feyenoord clinched the second Champions League spot with a draw against AZ, while Twente Enschede moved into the top three on the penultimate day of the Eredivisie season.
Anis Hadji-Moussa scored the crucial goal on 57 minutes, running on to a precise pass by Tobias van Elshout, as Feyenoord recovered from a catastrophic start in which AZ’s Troy Parrott had the ball in the net twice in the first minute.
The Irishman’s first effort, straight from the kick-off, was ruled out for offside, but 35 seconds later he chipped the ball over Timo Wellenreuther after Jordy Clasie intercepted a stray pass by Gernot Trauner.
Feyenoord’s dropped points meant NEC could take the fight for second spot to the last day of the season if they won at Groningen, but instead they dropped to fourth as the northerners claimed a 2-1 win.
Marco Rente gave Groningen the lead with a glancing header just before half-time, before Tygo Land’s deflected shot made it 2-0 five minutes after the break.
Darko Nejasmic pulled one back from a corner with 15 minutes to play and NEC were briefly celebrating an equaliser when Basar Önal tapped in from close range, but the video replay showed he was marginally offside.
Van den Belt double
That result meant NEC dropped down to fourth place behind Twente, who smashed four goals past Sparta in the second half. Thomas van den Belt struck twice in two minutes, having hit the crossbar in the first half, with Kristian Hlynsson and Daan Rots completing an emphatic win.
Sparta’s defeat means they dropped out of the Conference League play-off places, while Groningen moved up into the final spot with a two-point advantage. Utrecht secured their place with a 2-1 win at Ajax, who slipped to fifth following Twente’s win.
All the goals came in the last 10 minutes, as Niklas Vesterlund put Utrecht ahead with a header before substitute Wout Weghorst replied from a corner. But as Ajax pressed for a winner that would have put them third, Mike van der Hoorn headed in at the other end in the sixth minute of injury time.
Champions-elect PSV notched up a 4-1 win in Deventer against Go Ahead Eagles, including two goals for veteran midfielder Ivan Perisic.
Peter Bosz’s side are four goals short of notching up a century for the third season in a row, but their last-day opponents are Twente, who will need the points to seal third place and a Champions League play-off spot.
NAC relegated
At the bottom of the table, NAC’s relegation was confirmed as Telstar and Volendam got the points they needed to avoid going straight down.
Telstar beat bottom club Heracles 3-0 while Volendam managed a 1-1 draw at Excelsior, a result that means the home side will play in the top flight next season.
Volendam now need to beat Telstar when the clubs meet on the final day of the season to overtake them in 15th place and avoid a play-off against either Willem II or Almere City.
NAC’s match against Heerenveen was abandoned in the closing minutes with the home side leading 2-0 after disgruntled fans threw fireworks onto the pitch.
In the other match, Fortuna Sittard won a five-goal encounter with PEC Zwolle, but the draw between Excelsior and Volendam meant that both clubs are safe from the relegation play-offs.
Results
Sunday
Ajax 1-2 Utrecht
Excelsior 1-1 Volendam
Feyenoord 1-1 AZ Alkmaar
Fortuna Sittard 3-2 PEC Zwolle
Go Ahead Eagles 1-4 PSV Eindhoven
Groningen 2-1 NEC Nijmegen
NAC Breda 2a0 Heerenveen
Telstar 3-0 Heracles
Twente Enschede 4-0 Sparta Rotterdam
