Ajax stretched their lead at the top of the Eredivisie to four points with a majestic display against closest rivals PSV in the ArenA.

PSV started brightly with three good chances in the opening 15 minutes, the best of them falling to Carlos Vinicius when he tested Remko Pasveer with a close-range header.

The home side took the lead after 19 minutes, Steven Berghuis firing in a smart cross by Dusan Tadic, but it was only in the second half that their dominance was reflected on the scoresheet.

Tadic set up the second for Sebastian Haller and rounded off the scoring himself with his 100th Eredvisie goal in the 92nd minute, after strikes by Antony and Davy Klaassen had put the game beyond PSV’s reach.

Berghuis said the result, coming off the back of a 4-0 Champions League win against Dortmund in midweek, was a tribute to the team’s work ethic.

‘We definitely went through some difficult phases in the first half,’ he said. ‘We had to fight and work hard and it was good to see us doing that. Going 1-0 up gave us confidence and after 2-0 we felt we were on top.’

Utrecht held on to third place thanks to a late winner by Sander van de Streek against Heerenveen, for whom top scorer Henk Veerman was relegated to the bench. ‘I expect more from Henk, both with and without the ball,’ coach Johnny Jansen said of the controversial decision.

Feyenoord edged a feisty encounter at Cambuur Leeuwarden as left-back Tyrell Malacia’s drilled shot from the edge of the area in the 63rd minute proved the difference between the sides.

At the bottom of the table, PEC Zwolle picked up their first win of the season at home to provincial rivals Heracles. The visitors had a goal disallowed and missed a penalty before captain Bram van Polen settled the match with a spot-kick in the 92nd minute.

An injury-time penalty also decided the Gelderland derby, with Vitesse Arnhem following their win over Tottenham in midweek with a defeat to Go Ahead Eagles. Luuk Brouwers scored from the spot after goalkeeper Markus Schubert needlessly fouled Bas Kuipers.

Willem II slipped back to fifth as they could only manage a point at home to Fortuna Sittard, while NEC Nijmegen moved up to eighth with a 2-1 win in Enschede.

A wonder goal by Cyril Ngonge, flicking the ball over his own head with his heel, helped Groningen to climb out of the bottom three with their first win since August 15 against AZ, but Sparta stay 17th after Michiel Kramer bagged a late winner for RKC.

Scores

Friday

Willem II Tilburg 1-1 Fortuna Sittard

Saturday

PEC Zwolle 1-0 Heracles Almelo

RKC Waalwijk 1-0 Sparta Rotterdam

Utrecht 2-1 Heerenveen

Sunday

Ajax 5-0 PSV Eindhoven

Cambuur Leeuwarden 2-3 Feyenoord

Groningen 2-0 AZ Alkmaar

Twente Enschede 1-2 NEC Nijmegen

Vitesse Arnhem 1-2 Go Ahead Eagles