The final round of the Eredivisie season took place on Sunday with all 18 clubs in action. On a dramatic afternoon, Willem II was relegated while Heerenveen took the last European playoff spot.
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Willem II 3-0 Utrecht
Despite a comfortable win over Utrecht on Sunday, Willem II have been relegated to the Keuken Kampioen Divisie.
The Tilburg side needed to win and hope that results elsewhere went their way. Willem II got off to a good start as Jizz Hornkamp fired them ahead from close range after only eight minutes.
In the 53rd minute, it was 2-0 as Dries Saddiki netted on the rebound after Eric OelschlΓ€gel kept out a header from Freek Heerkens. A Joris van Overeem own goal then sealed the victory which proved not to be enough due to results elsewhere.
Willem II drops down to the second division while Utrecht is seventh and will face Vitesse Arnhem in a European playoff place.
Heracles Almelo 1-3 Sparta Rotterdam
Sparta Rotterdam will play in the Eredivisie next season after an excellent win over Heracles, who will now face a relegation playoff.
Sparta took the lead just before the break when an excellent pass by Younes Namli set up Arno Verschueren to calmly make it 1-0.
Heracles pushed forward for an equaliser, but in the 69th minute it was 2-0 to Sparta as Lennart Thy calmly finished off a move. It was a bad day for the hosts and it got worse when Mario Engels made it 3-0.
Sinan Bakis pulled one back but that is not enough to prevent the home side from dropping down to 16th. They will now face Excelsior in a relegation playoff to remain in the Eredivisie, while Sparta climbs up to 14th.
NEC Nijmegen 0-1 Fortuna Sittard
Fortuna Sittard will remain in the Eredivisie after a 1-0 win over NEC Nijmegen.
The hosts still had a chance of taking a European playoff spot and they dominated the start but in the 13th minute, Zian Flemming scored from a counter to put Fortuna ahead.
Fortuna then rode their luck as NEC went close to an equaliser on several occasions but they managed to hold on. The win means they are safe in 15th, while NEC sits in 11th.
Heerenveen 3-1 Go Ahead Eagles
Heerenveen will take part in the playoff for a European spot after a 3-1 win over Go Ahead Eagles.
The hosts knew a win would seal them eighth spot in the table and they took the lead in the 30th minute when Amin Sarr’s header was turned in by Sydney van Hooijdonk.
Van Hooijdonk then made it 2-0 with a header in the 61st minute, before Anthony Musaba wrapped up the victory. Before the end, Jacob Mulenga pulled one back for the visitors.
Heerenveen will now face AZ Alkmaar in the European playoffs while Go Ahead Eagles is in 13th.
Vitesse Arnhem 2-2 Ajax
Erik ten Hag’s final game in charge of Ajax ended in a 2-2 draw against Vitesse Arnhem.
Jay Gorter, Devyne Rensch, Youri Regeer, Kenneth Taylor and Brian Brobbey all got a chance to start the clash in Arnhem as Ten Hag jiggled his line-up.
Ajax had the lead after 15 minutes when Brobbey calmly finished off a pass from Dusan Tadic and it remained 1-0 until the break. Seven minutes into the second half, Lois Openda equalised after a swift counter, and the striker then made it 2-1 from close range shortly afterwards.
Steven Berghuis hit the bar for Ajax before Anass Salah-Eddine was allowed to come on for his debut. Eventually, Edson Alvarez equalised with three minutes left to earn Ajax a point.
Ajax finishes the Ten Hag era with a draw and must now prepare for the new season under Alfred Schreuder. Vitesse have a European playoff with Utrecht to come.
PEC Zwolle 1-2 PSV Eindhoven
PSV Eindhoven ended their campaign with a 2-1 victory over relegated PEC Zwolle.
The mood before the game was a somber one with PEC Zwolle going down on Wednesday, while PSV missed out on the title.
PSV had the lead early on through Bruma, who netted after being set up by Cody Gakpo, who was possibly playing his final game for the club. However, PEC Zwolle equalised through Gervane Kastaneer.
Kastaneer thought he had made it 2-1 but his header was ruled out for offside, while Bruma also had a goal disallowed before the break.
In the second half, young talents Dennis Vos, Richard Ledezma and Johan Bakayoko all came on for PSV, who eventually scored the winner. Ledezma made it 2-1 after a long ball by Jordan Teze.
Roger Schmidt’s final game in charge of PSV ends in a win while PEC Zwolle must now prepare for the Keuken Kampioen Divisie after finishing bottom.
Feyenoord 1-2 Twente
Feyenoord ended the league campaign with a disappointing defeat at home to FC Twente.
Neither side had anything to play for on the final day of the season but Feyenoord were looking for a boost ahead of their Europa Conference League final in 10 days.
Twente had the lead after 27 minutes when Ricky van Wolfswinkel set up Dimitris Limnios for a tap-in. Ten minutes later, Gijs Smal made it 2-0 after some poor positioning from Ofir Marciano.
Arne Slot made some changes at the break and was forced to withdraw Orkun Kokcu through injury. The hosts did pull one back through Cyriel Dessers, who combined with Luis Sinisterra before netting.
However, there was to be no equaliser and Twente held on for the win. They end the season in fourth and just behind Feyenoord, who are now preparing for their clash with Marseille.
AZ Alkmaar 1-3 RKC Waalwijk
AZ Alkmaar ended their season with a poor home defeat to RKC Waalwijk.
There was nothing at stake as AZ Alkmaar already knew they would be heading for the European playoffs, while RKC were safe.
Finn Stokkers gave the visitors the lead in the 18th minute but Dani de Wit’s header made it 1-1 in first-half stoppage time. JurriΓ«n Gaari restored RKC’s lead before Roy Kuipers sealed the victory in the 79th minute.
AZ Alkmaar finish fifth in the Eredivisie and will now face Heerenveen in the playoffs. RKC end the campaign in 10th.
Groningen 2-3 Cambuur
Cambuur ended their campaign in ninth after a victory over an out of form Groningen.
Both sides had an outside chance of taking the last European spot on Sunday a victory was necessary for both sides.
Roberts Uldrikis headed Cambuur in front early on before Mees Hoedemakers made it 2-0 five minutes into the second half. JΓΈrgen Strand Larsen pulled one back for Groningen, but Bjorn Meijer floored Mitchell Paulissen on the hour mark resulting a Cambuur penalty. Issa Kallon made it 3-1.
In added time, Romano Postema pulled one back but it was too little too late for the hosts, who end the season in 12th. Cambuur narrowly misses out on a European playoff spot but it has been an excellent campaign for the Leeuwarden side.