PSV, Feyenoord, Ajax, and AZ all met their Waterloos in the round of 16 of the Champions League and Europa League. Feyenoord (2-1 loss at Inter), Ajax (4-1 loss at Eintracht Frankfurt), and AZ (3-1 loss at Tottenham Hotspur) all lost their respective last games in Europe this season, whereas PSV (2-2 at Arsenal) saved at least some face after losing the first leg 7-1 in Eindhoven.
But it wasn’t the elimination of all Dutch teams which made the headlines. When Ajax manager Francesco Farioli presented the eleven names he’d picked to fight for Europa League survival, it was all the Dutch football world could talk about. The Italian gaffer picked a staggering ten different names than he did for the 2-1 defeat in Amsterdam, prompting journalists and fans alike to accuse him of throwing the towel already.
However, it is worth reminding ourselves where Ajax came from. Less than one year ago, They were fighting for a spot in the top five of the Eredivisie. Exactly one year ago, on March 17th, 2024, Ajax drew 2-2 to Sparta Rotterdam, failing to win an Eredivisie game for the sixth time in seven attempts.
Just shy of one year later, Ajax are on top of the Eredivisie with an 8-point gap over reigning champions PSV. Their squad resembles last year’s but plays with a vastly different energy. A wider perspective makes Farioli’s decision to prioritise the Eredivisie this year much, much more understandable.
With Brian Brobbey and Youri Baas lacking match fitness alongside Jordan Henderson's suspension, having a pop at Frankfurt with a heavily changed side isn’t as heinous as some made it out to be.
Especially with last weekend’s game nearing – a home game against bogey team AZ. The club from Alkmaar had already beaten Ajax twice this season – once in the league (2-1 in December) and once in the KNVB Cup (2-0 in January).
The game would already be a celebration on forehand as Ajax celebrate their 125th birthday on Tuesday, March 18th, making the home game against AZ the ideal moment to celebrate with the 55,000 fans in the Johan Cruyff ArenA. The Amsterdam giants debuted a special kit which honoured the first edition of their iconic white-red-white kit from 1911, while AZ played in a special kit honouring the historic windmills in the Alkmaar region.
A game previewed as one of the most crucial ones in the title race kicked off a little later than 16.45 CET on a rather cold Sunday afternoon. An extensive pyro performance from the fanatic home fans made referee Dennis Higler delay kick-off by just under 15 minutes.
Once the smoke had risen, Ajax and AZ kicked off a cagey, physical fight. Highlighted by the highly physical battles between AZ defender Wouter Goes and Ajax striker Brian Brobbey, the two sides would let their intentions be known early on.
Dennis Higler set the tone early on by leaving most physical duels untouched but simultaneously blowing most counterattacks dead. Higler’s leniency left Ajax assistant Felipe Sanchez Mateos beyond frustrated. One yellow card proved insufficient for the Spaniard to calm down, prompting Higler to send the assistant off with a red.
Overall, however, the physicality of the game did not improve the level of football, as the sides went into the break with a 0-0 score.
AZ’s Zico Buurmeester – yes, named after the Brazilian icon – scored the opener just two minutes after Kenneth Taylor hit the post for Ajax. A defensive miscue gave Buurmeester the ball and the easy opportunity to put AZ in front after 52 minutes. Ajax would equalise soon after when Anton Gaaei linked up with Bertrand Traore before neatly finishing in the bottom left corner
Combustion
However, this is where the game would take a bizarre turn.
An unlucky but reckless challenge by Gaaei prompted a VAR review fifteen minutes after his equaliser. The Dane mistimed a tackle on the ball and instead hit Buurmeester with full force, leaving Higler no choice but to send the right-back off with a direct red card.
A 2-game suspension means Gaaei will miss the biggest game of the season – a direct title battle between PSV and Ajax on Sunday, March 30th.
Just two minutes after Gaaei’s dismissal, Higler pulled another card out of his book and sent off Portuguese defender Alexandre Penetra with his second yellow of the game. The centre-back lunged at Brian Brobbey but seemingly got at least some of the ball, leaving everyone affiliated with AZ confused and furious at the referee.
Tensions rose high enough for the two benches to clash as play temporarily came to a violent halt. Wouter Goes called over the AZ players, seemingly telling his team to walk off the pitch out of protest. Martens’ team eventually decided against walking off, allowing the match to continue as planned.
The two sides would soon exchange goals again when Ibrahim Sadiq’s header was met with Oliver Edvardsen’s equaliser just minutes after the Ghanaian put AZ back in front.
A 2-2 draw meant Ajax dropped points in yet another anniversary match after the Amsterdam side lost 1-0 to FC Twente for their 100th anniversary in 2000.
“Unbelievable, truly bizarre, seriously,” AZ captain Jordy Clasie told ESPN about Dennis Higler’s performance. “I think he (Higler) was uncomfortable the whole match. I think he found it tough. If you said something to him normally, it was not allowed; maybe he was under high stress."
Higler himself admitted to making a mistake by giving Penetra his second yellow card but refused to appear in front of ESPN’s cameras for further explanation.
The draw officially reduced Ajax's 8-point gap to 6 after PSV beat RKC Waalwijk on Saturday night. The reigning champions outclassed RKC thanks to a stellar front three en route to a 3-0 win.
PSV’s first Eredivisie away win since December 2024 was a special production of Noa Lang, Luuk de Jong, and Ivan Perisic. De Jong and Perisic both contributed greatly with a goal and an assist, whereas Lang put the 2-0 on the board with a powerful strike.
The trio ended PSV's four-game winless streak in away games and handed the team the much-needed win in a weekend in which Ajax met a tricky opponent.
Manager Peter Bosz opted again for Isaac Babadi instead of Ismael Saibari in midfield after the latter’s punishment earlier in the week. Bosz left Saibari in the team hotel before their Champions League game against Arsenal after the Moroccan international was too late for the “umpteenth time,” according to Bosz.
Saibari, who has 11 goals and 11 assists this season, was omitted from Saturday’s starting squad again. The 24-year-old will look to prove himself all over again after the international break, starting with the pivotal home game against Ajax.
Even with PSV gaining on Ajax, no one had a better weekend than Feyenoord and Robin van Persie. The Premier League icon won his first match as manager of his old club by emphatically beating FC Twente in their own backyard.
Two goals from Ayase Ueda, three assists from Givairo Read, and a staggering five goal contributions from Brazilian winger Igor Paixao highlighted a massive 6-2 win for Van Persie’s Feyenoord, earning Van Persie his first victory after three previous attempts. The victory in Enschede was just Feyenoord’s third in the last nine Eredivisie matches, but also their joint-biggest this season.
Van Persie’s men took the initiative early when Givairo Read and Ayase Ueda combined for the opener, after which Igor Paixao took over with a rocket from the edge of the box. Paixao then linked up with Ueda for the 3-0 before half-time, leaving Twente floundering.
Eredivisie top goalscorer Sem Steijn did something back for Twente, but the team from Rotterdam left nothing up to luck after Paixao completed his hat-trick with a second-half double. After Steijn added a second to his tally, 18-year-old Aymen Sliti capped off the game for Feyenoord with his first senior goal.
The goal concluded a special week for the youngster who made his senior debut for Feyenoord in the Champions League game against Inter.
Van Persie also welcomed In-beom Hwang back after the South Korean midfielder missed five weeks of football due to injury and celebrated it with taking over the fourth spot from FC Twente. Needless to say: Van Persie was more than pleased with his team’s performance.
“What I really liked today is that they were all different goals,” said Van Persie. “From high pressure, but also from good countering. There was a lot of movement, and that was very nice to see. The boys just did very well today.
“This has to become our norm, and we have to work hard for that every day because you saw at the end that some players were at the end of their physicality. We still need to make progress. The fitter we are, the better we can play football,” Van Persie continued.
“Ultimately, the trick is to deliver this each week. Today you can see that these guys do have those qualities. We need to get the toughness that was there before, and that needs some time.”
Meanwhile, FC Utrecht failed to keep a firm grasp of the third spot after losing a tame home game to NEC. The visitors profited from a penalty caused by a reckless challenge from American international Paxten Aaronson, gifting Vito van Crooij a golden opportunity to score the opener in the 82nd minute.
Utrecht's dip in form could come at a huge cost, with qualification for the Champions League qualifying rounds now in serious jeopardy. Ron Jans' team have won just four of the last 14 league games, a streak going back to December 1st.
However, NEC did themselves a massive favour by winning their first Eredivisie in nearly two months. Rogier Meijer's side are now in 11th and only three points behind eighth-placed Fortuna Sittard.
A little further down the rankings, Go Ahead Eagles edged closer to their all-time season-best in points after beating Willem II with just 1-0. Finnish sensation Oliver Antman provided his 12th assist of the season for the only goal of the game, courtesy of Milan Smit.
The Eagles cemented their claim to the seventh spot in the Eredivisie and now boast a 12-point lead over Fortuna Sittard after their loss to FC Groningen.
The team from the North grabbed their third win in four games in a sold Euroborg thanks to Icelandic forward Brynjolfur Willumsson’s strike in the 87th minute. Groningen lead the charge on Fortuna Sittard after falling to fifteenth as recently as one month ago.
Almere City and NAC Breda opened the weekend on Friday night with a 1-1 draw in the Yanmar Stadion. Sydney van Hooijdonk - son of former UEFA Cup winner and Celtic, Fenerbahce, and Middlesbrough striker Pierre van Hooijdonk - opened the scoring after 18 minutes but couldn't enjoy being the lone goalscorer for much longer after Charles-Andreas Brym replied on behalf of Almere City just one minute later.
Rotterdam and Heerenveen were the last remaining battlegrounds on Saturday evening. Sparta and PEC Zwolle kicked off the first Saturday evening game and shared the points and the honour after a 1-1 draw. Olivier Aertssen and Tobias Lauritsen accounted for the only goals of the match in lightning-quick succession - Aertssen scored the opener in the 48th minute, after which Lauritsen equalised in the 51st.
Heerenveen and Heracles Almelo closed out the Saturday slate of games with a 1-1 draw after Jizz Hornkamp and Marcus Linday scored the only goals of the game inside the first half.
But as this Eredivisie week concluded, the Dutch football world already had its sight set on the next gameweek as PSV and Ajax will go head-to-head in a massive game for the championship.
Winners of the Week
Feyenoord gave itself a confidence boost after Robin van Persie grabbed his first win as Feyenoord boss, AZ withheld Ajax from winning for the eighth time running, but PSV have given their title charge new life after beating RKC Waalwijk emphatically. The days of the 7-1 loss to Arsenal seem to have been left in the past, and Peter Bosz's men are ready to take the fight to their arch nemeses.
The 6-point gap to league leaders Ajax could be reduced to just 3 with a win after the international break. After a serious lack of form, PSV have now won two straight Eredivisie games for the first time since December and held a clean sheet in the Eredivisie for the first time in 2025.
A tricky slate of opponents is still on the horizon for PSV - after Ajax, PSV will meet FC Twente and Feyenoord in their stadiums in late April and early May.
The championship is long from over now the battle between Ajax and PSV is more alive than ever.
Losers of the Week
Weeks of disappointing football and likewise results are starting to haunt FC Utrecht in their hunt for a spot in the Champions League.
Utrecht have won just two games in as many months, and saw their advantage over the chasing pack completely disappear. Last weekend's loss to NEC means Utrecht now have a mere 2-point lead over fourth-placed Feyenoord, who have a game in hand.
Two clean sheets in 15 games is no recipe for success, either. Utrecht will have to find a quick remedy for their lack of form.
Goal of the Week
Your team are dominating a tricky away game, your opponents have seemingly lost the plot, and you see an easy to intercept ball coming from your opponent's foot. What do you do?
Feyenoord's Igor Paixao knew exactly what to do: lace the ball with brutal force. His 2-0 against FC Twente could only be our goal of the week.
Team of the Week
Here is our Team of the Week for round 26 of the Eredivisie.
Was there ever any question last to who'd be last week's top-rated performer? Three goals and two assists in a 6-2 rout over FC Twente, not to mention clinching the title of Goal of the Week with a fantastic strike - Igor Paixao did it all on Sunday afternoon. The Brazilian standout already impressed against AC Milan in the first leg of their Champions League knock-out tie.
Paixao is accompanied by Luuk de Jong and Noa Lang in attack after their strong performances in Waalwijk. De Jong was vital in PSV's 3-0 win with a goal and an assist, whereas Lang showed his quality with a goal, 3 created chances, and 93% pass accuracy.
FC Groningen's Stije Resink, PSV's Joey Veerman, and Heracles captain Brian De Keersmaecker fill in this week's midfield. Resink controlled the midfield in Groningen's 1-0 win over Fortuna Sittard and led the team in touches with 95. Joey Veerman assisted Ivan Perisic's 1-0, dictated midfield play with 71 passes - 9 of which went into the final third - and 4 created chances. De Keersmaecker - this week's lowest-rated entry - provided the assist to Heracles' only goal, accounted for 4 clearances, 4 recoveries, 2 blocks, and an overall solid performance.
Back in the defense, NEC captain Bram Nuytinck leads the line with an 8.5 after a more than solid performance in Utrecht. Nuytinck completed 41 of 42 pass attempts, notched 10 won duels, 5 interceptions and recoveries, 4 clearances, 3 blocks and not a single foul in a pivotal win for his team.
Feyenoord right-back Givairo Read wrote history in his own respect after becoming the youngest player in Eredivisie history to record 3 assists in one game. His 4 clearances, 4 recoveries, and 11 passes into the final third all helped Feyenoord to a statement win in Enschede. On the other side, FC Groningen's Marco Rente provided the assist to Brynjolfur Willumsson's goal, and created the most chances in the match with 2. Add that to his 9 won duels and you get a worthy 8.3 rating.
Mike Eerdhuijzen completes the defense after winning all of his duels, clearing the ball on five occasions, and competing 91% of his chances. Robin Roefs is this week's goalkeeper after his 3 saves against FC Utrecht, one of which came in the very last minute of the match to a close-range Sebastien Haller header.