Eredivisie Weekend Round Up: Dutch top flight has that familiar look

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Feyenoord, PSV and Ajax occupy the top three places in the Eredivisie, Go Ahead Eagles claim a first victory, while the search for a win continues for Utrecht, PEC Zwolle and Groningen, writes Neil Adderley.

AZ Alkmaar 2 v 0 Willem II: AZ win dull affair in Alkmaar

Fred Friday had Willem II keeper Kostas Lamprou at full stretch from a point blank header but the Greek stopper had no answer to a 25 yard Alireza Jahanbakhsh drive on 19 minutes.

The visitors struggled to claim a foothold in the game although Erik Falkenburg was unfortunate to see his shot come back from off the upright.

The second period mirrored the first with AZ in control and Willem II unable to threaten the home defence.

And the game was finally settled in injury time as Levi Garcia rounded Lamprou before finding the empty net.

PEC Zwolle 1 v 1 Utrecht: Haller grabs point for Utrecht with late penalty

It was a point a piece in a disappointing draw leaving both teams without a win in the 2016/17 Eredivisie campaign. Kingsley Ehizibue opened the scoring for PEC in somewhat controversial circumstances.

Utrecht keeper Robbin Ruiter left teammate Kevin Conboy flat out after electing to punch a cross, and with a number of Utrecht players appealing for play to be stopped, Ryan Thomas played in Ehizibue who gave the hosts the lead.

Richairo Zivkovic and Sebastien Haller both missed opportunities to bring the visitors level, however striker Haller redeemed himself with a 92nd minute penalty to leave both sides having to settle for a point.

NEC Nijmegen 0 v 4 PSV Eindhoven: First half blitz more than enough for PSV

PSV needed only 24 minutes to seal a club joint record twelfth consecutive away victory.

Bart Ramselaar opened the scoring on his full debut on four minutes before Gaston Pereiro slid the ball home just six minutes later.

Joshua Brenet headed a third from a Luuk de Jong cross after 20 minutes and De Jong completed the four goal rout just four minutes later.

The visitors cruised through the rest of the game as NEC failed to come up with anything resembling a fightback in Nijmegen.

Excelsior 3 v 1 Heracles Almelo: Heracles blown away in sparkling first half display

It took just 28 seconds for Excelsior to open the scoring at the Woudestein as a swift passing move was finished by Khalid Karami.

A stunned Heracles quickly found themselves three down inside 22 minutes as firstly Ryan Koolwijk rifled the ball into the top corner before Fredy cut inside from the right to fire home.

Vincent Vermeij tapped home to give Heracles a consolation on 66 minutes but Excelsior saw out the game comfortably to secure a much deserved win.

Heerenveen 3 v 1 FC Twente: Second win of the season for Heerenveen

A double from Reza Ghoochannejhad and a Sam Larsson strike sealed the hosts a comfortable win at the Abe Lenstra stadium.

Ghoochannejhad gave the home supporters a taste of things to come as his fierce strike was smartly saved by Twente keeper Nick Marsman.

But the Iranian forward wouldn’t be denied when heading home on 34 minutes.

Larssen, who saw his earlier free kick rattle the crossbar, doubled the hosts lead after 66 minutes, but Twente hit back with a 78th minute curling effort from Bersant Celina.

The game was finally settled when Ghoochannejhad tapped home in injury time to seal a second victory of the season for the Frisians.

Feyenoord 3 v 1 ADO Den Haag: Winning streak continues for high flying Feyenoord

Feyenoord continued their perfect start to the season as the Rotterdammers saw off a spirited ADO at De Kuip.

Captain Dirk Kuijt led from the front and the club top scorer gave the hosts a 33 minute lead before fellow striker Nicolai Jorgensen doubled the advantage a minute later.

Feyenoord failed to build on the lead in the second period and ADO hit back with four minutes on the clock as substitute Ludcinio Marengo finished emphatically.

However, midfielder Karim El Ahmadi settled the nerves in De Kuip with a 94th minute goal to leave Feyenoord sitting top of the table with a maximum 15 points after five games.

Go Ahead Eagles 2 v 0 Roda JC: Celebrations in Deventer as Go Ahead find first win

Go Ahead claimed a first win of the season as Roda were deservedly beaten at the Adelaarshorst.

Marcel Ritzmaier had a golden opportunity to give the hosts a comfortable lead going into the break but Roda keeper Benjamin van Leer somehow pushed the header over the bar.

The opening goal came from the penalty spot as Welsh defender Simon Church was harshly adjudged to have handled before Kevin Brands stepped up and made no mistake from 12 yards.

Roda pushed for an equaliser in the second period but it was Go Ahead who eventually sealed a deserved first victory with Darren Maatsen firing home on the 89th minute.

Groningen 1 v 1 Sparta Rotterdam: Groningen search for first victory continues

FC Groningen’s wait for an opening win in the 2016/17 Eredivisie goes on as Sparta held Ernst Faber’s side at the Euroborg.

Mimoun Mahi had given the hosts an 11th minute lead, firing home left footed after a scramble in the Sparta box, however, the visitors quickly hit back when Zakaria El Azzouzi finished calmly after 19 minutes.

Both sides had chances to snatch victory in the second period, with both keepers pulling out decent saves in what proved to be an entertaining but ultimately frustrating draw.

Ajax 1 v 0 Vitesse Arnhem: Ajax beat Vitesse in tight win

A Nick Viergever header from a Hakim Ziyech free kick was enough for Ajax to overcome Vitesse in Amsterdam.

Ziyech, who had a quiet first half on his debut for Peter Bosz’s side, fired in a 50th minute free kick for Viergever to head home unchallenged.

Vitesse were the better team in the opening period but failed to capatalise on a number of decent chances.

And when defender Arnold Kruiswijk received a second yellow card on the hour mark the visitors hopes of rescuing a point were dashed.

The win sees Ajax move up to third in the table behind Feyenoord and PSV.

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