PSV returned to the top of the Eredivisie with a thumping 5-2 win over Cambuur Leeuwarden as previous leaders Feyenoord lost a seven-goal thriller against the other Frisian club, Heerenveen.
It took just 46 seconds for PSV to get off the mark as Sven Mijnans headed in unmarked.
The midfielder added a second after 15 minutes and completed his hat-trick with a free-kick in the 80th minute to make the score 4-2, just as Cambuur were threatening a comeback.
Feyenoord’s dip in form continued as they let a two-goal lead slip at Heerenveen. The Rotterdammers looked to be in control going into the break with a trademark drilled shot by Anis Hadj Moussa and a penalty by Nacho Ferri.
But Maas Willemsen bundled in the ball from a corner on the stroke of half-time, before Ringo Meerveld came on for the second half and scored a hat-trick as Feyenoord’s defence crumbled under pressure.
“In the matches when we played well I saw a team that fought for each other,” Feyenoord coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst said after the game. “Mentally strong, kept running even when we didn’t have the ball. That’s our strength. When we don’t do that we’re a lesser team.”
Meerdinck penalty drama
Mexx Meerdink scored a hotly contested late penalty to settle a tempestuous game in Alkmaar as AZ came back from 3-1 down against Groningen to claim their first win in five matches.
Goalkeeper Etienne Vaessen was given a second yellow card for protesting too hard against the decision to penalise him for upending Ayoub Oufkir. Once the commotion died down Meerdink, who had missed from the spot against Vaessen earlier in the second half, made no mistake against substitute goalkeeper Lovro Stubljar.
Ajax missed the chance to take over top spot at Twente as their former striker Wout Weghorst scored a last-minute penalty to rescue a point for the home side.
Ajax had been 2-0 up with a bullet header by their giant striker Tolu Arokodare and a long-range strike by Rayane Bounida, before an own goal by Dies Janse brought the visitors back into the game.
Valk own goal
Fortuna Sittard also had to settle for a point against Telstar after going 2-0 up thanks to a bizarre own goal by Sem Valk. The defender’s sliced clearance looped over the head of Ronald Koeman Junior as the goalkeeper tried to head it away rather than risk being penalised for handling a backpass.
Goals just before half-time by Abdelnour Soualhia and Patrick Brouwer brought Telstar back into the game, but neither side was able to find a winner after the break.
That result allowed ADO, under the guidance of interim coach Levi Schwiebbe, to close the gap on 16th-placed Telstar to one point with a 3-1 win against Sparta, while bottom Willem II collected their third point of the season at home to PEC Zwolle.
Friday
Willem II 1-1 PEC Zwolle
Saturday
ADO Den Haag 3-1 Sparta Rotterdam
Excelsior 0-1 Go Ahead Eagles
Fortuna Sittard 2-2 Telstar
Sunday
Twente Enschede 2-2 Ajax
AZ Alkmaar 4-3 Groningen
Cambuur Leeuwarden 2-5 PSV Eindhoven
Heerenveen 5-3 Feyenoord
Utrecht 2-3 NEC Nijmegen
