Feyenoord defeat AZ, open Eredivie lead

Feyenoord have bounced back from their midweek Europa League defeat to Fenerbahce by thrashing AZ Alkmaar 4-0 to open up a three-point lead at the top of the Eredivisie.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side bowed out of the Europa League after losing 1-0 at home to Fenerbahce on Thursday night but quickly put the disappointment behind them on Sunday as goals from Steven Berghuis, Jan-Arie van der Heijden and Nicolai Jorgensen gave them a 3-0 half-time lead.

Tonny Vilhena added a fourth in the second period for Feyenoord, who go clear at the top following Ajax's 1-0 defeat at FC Twente.

Mateusz Klich converted a stoppage-time penalty for Twente after Nick Viergever had handled and the Ajax defender saw red following his second booking.

Ajax's second league defeat of the season halts their 12-game unbeaten run, while Twente, up to sixth place, secured their first win in six.

FC Utrecht extended their unbeaten league run to eight matches and are level with Twente in the table following a 2-0 home win against Heracles.

Mike te Wierik's own goal gave Utrecht a half-time lead and the Heracles defender completed a miserable afternoon when he conceded a late penalty for his challenge on Sebastien Haller, who converted the spot-kick.

It got worse for Heracles when defender Tim Breukers was shown a straight red in the 90th minute for his foul on Richairo Zivkovic.

Ricky van Wolfswinkel scored the only goal as Vitesse Arnhem won 1-0 at Sparta Rotterdam to clinch the visitors back-to-back league wins for the first time this season.

Van Wolfswinkel struck in the 83rd minute, while Sparta, for whom midfielder Stijn Spierings was shown a straight red card in stoppage time, have won only one of their last 10 in the Eredivisie.