There was nine Eredivisie matches on Sunday in the penultimate round of fixtures. Below is a round-up of all the action.

Ajax 4-1 Utrecht

Ajax recovered from an early setback to defeat Utrecht 4-1 and they are now almost certain to be the title winners.

The big question was whether Ajax would be able to recover from their horrific last second defeat to Tottenham in midweek and in the first minute, Othman Boussaid silenced the crowd by giving Utrecht the lead.

However, Ajax recovered with Klaas Jan Huntelaar firing in Donny van de Beek’s cross to make it 1-1 after 14 minutes. Just before the break, van de Beek gave Ajax the lead.

In the second half, two goals from Dusan Tadic led Ajax to a comfortable victory which means they are almost assured of the title.

They travel to De Graafschap on Wednesday three points and a far superior goal difference ahead of PSV.

AZ Alkmaar 1-0 PSV

PSV’s title chances are over after they fell to a 1-0 defeat at AZ Alkmaar.

Mark van Bommel’s side started brightly but Marco Bizot saved from close range to deny Luuk de Jong. After that early chance, AZ took control and they deservedly took the lead four minutes into the second half. Guus Til calmly scored after a swift counter-attack.

It was nearly 2-0 moments later but former PSV winger Albert Gudmundsson struck the post.

For the last half-hour, PSV threw everything forward but an equaliser never came with Donyell Malen passing up their two biggest chances.

PSV now need to win their last game at home to Heracles by a huge margin and hope that Ajax lose to De Graafschap for any chance of the title.

Feyenoord 0-2 ADO Den Haag

Robin van Persie’s big farewell was ruined by ADO Den Haag who came away from De Kuip with a 2-0 victory.

All attention was on Robin van Persie who stepped onto the pitch for the final time before hanging up his boots. He almost opened the scoring in the 28th minute but his header came back off the post.

In the 42nd minute, ADO Den Haag took the lead with Erik Falkenburg nodding into the net. Before the hour mark, Sheraldo Becker made it 2-0 after a quick break.

Robert Zwinkels saved well twice from Van Persie as Feyenoord looked for a way back into the game. However, it never came and in the last few minutes, van Persie was given a guard of honour as he was brought off for the final time.

Feyenoord are going to finish the season in third while ADO Den Haag still have a slender chance of reaching the European playoffs.

Heerenveen 2-1 NAC Breda

NAC Breda have been officially relegated from the Eredivisie after a 2-1 defeat at Heerenveen.

The visitors needed to win and hope results went their way elsewhere to give themselves a chance of escaping bottom spot. However, after a goalless first half, Sam Lammers gave Heerenveen the lead.

Menno Koch equalised for NAC Breda but in stoppage time, Mitchell van Bergen sealed a win for Heerenveen.

NAC are officially bottom and can now start preparing for life in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie.

Groningen 3-0 Fortuna Sittard

Groningen have moved into the European playoff spot after a comfortable win against Fortuna Sittard.

Paul Gladon fired the hosts ahead in the first-half before Ritsu Doan and a late Samir Memisevic penalty sealed the victory.

Groningen climb above Willem II into eighth and are now in pole position for a playoff spot.

Vitesse 6-1 De Graafschap

Vitesse Arnhem hammered De Graafschap 6-1 to seal their place in the European playoffs.

The hosts got off to a slow start but in the 26th minute, Bart Straalman netted an own goal to make it 1-0 for Vitesse. Thomas Buitink then made it 2-0 before the break.

In the 70th minute, Buitink netted his second and then the floodgates opened. Martin Odegaard made it 4-0 from the penalty spot before Oussama Darfalou added a fifth.

Youssef El Jabli pulled one back in the 86th minute, but Ritchie Musaba then added a sixth for Vitesse before the end.

Vitesse climb above Utrecht into fifth spot and top seeding in the European playoffs. De Graafschap’s place in the relegation playoffs are also confirmed.

Willem II 2-3 Emmen

Emmen have secured their Eredivisie status with a victory at Willem II.

Willem II were hoping for a victory which would keep them in pole position for a European playoff spot and they seemed on course for that. Vangelis Pavlidis made it 1-0 in the 35th minute before Alexander Isak doubled the lead.

However, Luciano Slagveer pulled one back before the break and in the second half, Emmen turned the game around. Hilal Ben Moussa equalised in the 71st minute, before Michael de Leeuw sealed Emmen’s victory.

The win means Emmen will be in the Eredivisie next season while Willem II drop to ninth and now need to win their final game to have a chance of sneaking into the European playoffs.

PEC Zwolle 2-4 VVV Venlo

An entertaining dead-rubber saw Peniel Mlapa score a hattrick as VVV swept PEC Zwolle aside 4-2.

Lennart Thy gave PEC Zwolle the lead before the break, but Mlapa scored twice between the 54th and 57th minute to turn the game around. Peter van Ooijen made it 3-1 before Mlapa completed his hattrick.

Stanley Elbers scored a consolation before the end for the hosts, who sit 13th while VVV are 12th.

Heracles 4-5 Excelsior

Adrian Dalmau and Elias Mar Omarsson both netted hat-tricks as Excelsior edged a nine goal thriller in Almelo.

Omarsson gave the visitors the lead in the fourth minute but Dalmau made it 1-1 in the 23rd minute. Omarsson scored his second to give Excelsior the lead at the break but quickly in the second half, Dalmau equalised again.

The Spanish striker completed his hat-trick in the 59th minute before Lerin Duarte made it 4-2 for Heracles. Excelsior pulled one back through Jurgen Mattheij but it seemed Heracles were heading for victory.

In the 90th minute, Dennis Eckert equalised before Omarsson completed his hattrick a minute later to seal a great comeback for Excelsior.

Heracles remain on course for a European playoff spot while Excelsior will be in the bottom three and have to survive through the relegation playoffs.




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