Ajax’s horror season hit a new low point as the Amsterdam club slumped to a 6-0 defeat to rivals Feyenoord in Rotterdam.
The defending champions dominated from the start, but Ajax held out until the 34th minute when Igor Paixão clipped in Yakuba Minteh’s through ball, after Ajax’s Ahmetcan Kaplan had surrendered possession cheaply.
Two minutes later the outstanding Minteh added a second when Bart Nieuwkoop picked him out in the penalty area, after Calvin Stengs had profited from more slack Ajax defending.
David Hancko nodded in a third just before half-time and Feyenoord kept up the pressure after the break, scoring three times in a nine-minute spell through Minteh, Quiten Timber and Paixão. Ajax had to wait until the 83rd minute to record their only shot on target.
Rock bottom
The result equals the biggest ever winning margin in the Klassieker between the two teams and marks the first time Ajax have failed to score against Feyenoord in a league season, having lost 4-0 in Amsterdam earlier in the season. It is also Ajax’s worst defeat since the start of professional football in 1954.
“I am angry and disappointed,” captain Steven Bergwijn said afterwards. “We hit rock bottom today. We made schoolboy errors. It hurts to say it, but Feyenoord were by far the better team.”
Ajax slipped to fifth place in the league table behind NEC Nijmegen, who won the Gelderland derby to deepen Vitesse Arnhem’s own woes.
Jasper Cillessen was the busier goalkeeper in the opening 10 minutes as Vitesse started brightly, but the side lying second from bottom failed to find a way through. Mees Hoedemakers smashed in NEC’s first goal from a tight angle after 65 minutes and Sontje Hansen added a late double.
PSV Eindhoven rediscovered their scoring boots as they strolled to a 5-1 win against AZ, who conceded five goals for the second time in four days after their 5-0 hammering at Heracles.
AZ had no answer to PSV’s flowing passing and movement, with Malik Tillman and Joey Veerman pulling the strings. Luuk de Jong ended a five-match goal drought to strike twice, briefly drawing level with AZ’s Vangelis Pavlidis at the top of the scoring charts, only for the Greek to notch his 25th of the season late in the game.
Twente close on third
PSV stay nine points clear of Feyenoord at the top with five matches to play, while Twente took advantage of AZ’s setbacks to open up an eight-point gap in the battle for the third Champions League qualifying spot.
Second-half goals by Michel Vlap and Ricky van Wolfswinkel were enough to claim the points against Fortuna Sittard, who had the right to feel aggrieved when Rodrigo Guth was sent off after 35 minutes. Guth received his second yellow card for a challenge that video replays showed was actually committed by his team-mate Alen Halilovic, but the VAR panel declined to intervene.
PEC Zwolle’s first win in nine matches all but ensured their survival at the expense of Excelsior, who remain two points adrift of RKC in the play-off zone. Anselmo Mac Nulty bundled in a loose ball after 18 minutes to put PEC ahead, before Odysseus Velanos converted a threaded pass by Filip Krastev after 65 minutes to seal the points, despite Lance Duivensteijn’s late consolation.
Volendam kept their faint hopes of survival alive by edging to a 3-2 win over fellow strugglers RKC. A Robert Mühren double gave Volendam a 2-0 lead at half-time, but RKC scored twice in three minutes early in the second half, only for Daris Johnson to scramble in the winner from a long throw-in.
Sam Lammers struck twice as Utrecht strengthened their hold on eight place and a European play-off spot with a 3-2 win at Heerenveen, who staged a late rally with two goals in injury time by Patrick Wåldemark.
Heracles continued their good recent form with a 2-1 win at Sparta, with ji*zz Hornkamp notching the winner for his 10th goal since Christmas, while Almere City drew for the sixth match in a row as they shared the points at Go Ahead Eagles.
Results
Saturday
PEC Zwolle 2-1 Excelsior
PSV Eindhoven 5-1 AZ Alkmaar
Sparta Rotterdam 1-2 Heracles Almelo
Twente Enschede 2-0 Fortuna Sittard
Sunday
Feyenoord 6-0 Ajax
Go Ahead Eagles 1-1 Almere City
Heerenveen 2-3 Utrecht
Vitesse Arnhem 0-3 NEC Nijmegen
Volendam 3-2 RKC Waalwijk
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