PSV Eindhoven go into the winter break with a six-point cushion in the Eredivisie after seeing off the challenge of Feyenoord in convincing fashion. A close-range strike by Noa Lang and a header from Luuk de Jong, both set up by Croatian veteran Ivan Perisic’s plundering runs down the right-hand channel, gave the league leaders a comfortable lead within the first half-hour. Feyenoord posed more of a threat in the second half, but PSV were able to add a third when Malik Tillman found space on the edge of the penalty to curl in a shot with his right foot.
Second-placed Ajax struggled to break down Sparta in a turgid game in Het Kasteel that brought them head to head with their former manager Maurice Steijn. Kenneth Taylor scored from the spot in the 73 rd minute after Jorrel Hato was brought down 73 minutes, before Bertrand Traoré drilled in a low curler for the second. Utrecht slump Utrecht looked on course to finish the year level on points with Ajax when Nick Viergever’s early header gave them a 1-0 lead at half-time against Fortuna Sittard.
But the Limburgers, who were dumped out of the cup by amateur side Quick Boys in midweek, staged an extraordinary comeback in the second half. Luka Tunjic equalized with Fortuna Sittard’s first effort on target when a deflected shot fell kindly into his path. Utrecht regained a lead within a minute through Yoann Cathline, but the visitors hit back with three goals in 10 minutes and added a fifth in injury time.
Viergever received.