The Eredivisie's penultimate weekend saw all eighteen sides kicking off at the same time last Sunday afternoon. PSV, league leaders for so much of the season, can no longer win the title. This leaves Dutch giants Ajax and defending champions FC Twente, who are separated by just a point, facing off in Amsterdam on the final day of the season. The sides will also meet in the KNVB Beker final before their title showdown.
Twente signalled their intent to make it back-to-back titles with a crushing 4-0 win over Willem II Tilburg, whose relegation was confirmed due to the defeat combined with VVV Venlo's victory. Luuk de Jong scored Twente's first after a lot of pressure from Preud'homme's side in the 39th minute, and Douglas Franco made it 2-0 not long after the break. A Dragan Jelič own goal on 63 made it 3-0 and Theo Janssen rounded off the scoring from the spot thirteen minutes from time- sealing Willem's fate.
And Ajax's 2-1 win at Heerenveen ensured that the title race will go down to the wire when they host Twente on May 15th. However, the Amsterdammers were given an early scare when Heerenveen's Mika Väyrynen put his side 1-0 up after 19 minutes, but it ended up short-lived as less than a minute later Miralem Sulejmani levelled things up. Both sides continued to press but it was Ajax who got the next, and ultimately decisive, goal straight after half time when man of the match Christian Eriksen found the bottom corner to make it 2-1.
PSV are no longer in the title race despite a 2-1 victory over Vitesse Arnhem, however they will still want to win their last game of the season to try and clinch second and a place in next term's Champion's League. The hosts were dominant right from the off and went ahead through Marcus Berg six minutes before half time. Marcelo doubled that lead in the 63rd minute when he headed home Balasz Dzsudzsák's cross. Despite PSV's continued pressure to extend their lead even further, it was Vitesse who struck next with pretty much their only chance of the game when Jordi Lopez made it 2-1, but the Eindhoven side held on for all three points.
FC Groningen are now the only team left that can stop AZ Alkmaar finishing fourth after an impressive 4-2 away win over fellow contenders ADO Den Haag, which reminded everyone of how much of a force they have been for the majority of this season. It didn't take long for the visitor's to take the lead when Petter Andersson found the net with thirteen minutes gone, but golden boot contender Dmitry Bulykin got his side back on level terms just over ten minutes later.
In an action packed first half Groningen regained the lead not long after through Fredrik Stenman, only for Dmitry Bulykin to pull it back once again and make sure it was level at the break through his penalty. It was all Pieter Huistra's side in the second half, as a second from Andersson and a late goal from Tom Hiariej proved too much for ADO to come back from and the game ended 4-2.
Alkmaar hammered Graafschap 5-1 to stay in fourth place heading into the final round of games. The ever impressive Icelander Kolbeinn Sigthórsson scored AZ's first in the 17th minute and Brett Holman made it 2-0 on the stroke of half time. Sigthórsson added his second and Alkmaar's third early on in the second half, and a brace from Graziano Pellè made it 5-0 with eighteen minutes left. Peter Jungschläger added a late consolation for Graafschap, but this defeat means they may still find themselves in the relegation play-offs come the end of the season.
Roda's quest for fourth place ended in embarrassing fashion last weekend as they were beaten 5-0 on their visit to mid-table Nijmegen. Bjorn Vleminckx was a man on a mission and he scored his first of what would be four goals in the 19th minute, with Remy Amieux making it 2-0 ten minutes later. And so it was all Vleminckx in the second half, scoring in the 55th and 70th minutes to make it 4-0. He scored his 23rd of the season, making him the league's current top scorer, in stoppage time after Roda were reduced to ten (thanks to Ruud Vormer).
Heracles moved up into the Europa League play-off places after an eventful 2-1 win at NAC Breda. Breda took the lead in the 17th minute, but then had to defend their lead with just ten men when Czaber Fehér saw red only two minutes later. However they could have extended their lead further despite their numerical disadvantage if it wasn't Danny Gorter's missed penalty late in the first half.
NAC were left to rue their missed chance, as with twenty remaining, two goals in four minutes for Heracles, made it 2-1. Mark Jan Fleddurus and Glynor Plet provided a lead they held on to despite Everton Ramos da Silva's dismissal eight minutes from time.
A 3-1 win over Utrecht for Excelsior means that they may still escape the relegation play-offs on the final day. Geert Arend Roorda and Roland Bergkamp netted in the first half to make it 2-0, with Roorda's second of the game on 65 sealing the win. Utrecht added one of their own through Frank Demouge with three minutes left but it was too little too late.
VVV Venlo will certainly be involved in a relegation play off despite treating their fans to a (rare and) thrilling 3-2 win over Feyenoord. Venlo took the lead when Ahmed Musa scored the only goal of the first half, and the visitor's didn't equalise until Georgino Wijnaldum's 68th minute strike which kicked off a flurry of goals.
Musa restored the lead three minutes later only for the home side to be pegged back again a further four minutes later by Luc Castaignos. However it was Venlo who struck the final blow in the 80th minute when Michael Uchebo made it 3-2.