PSV in pole position as Groningen stun Ajax with late leveller

PSV will take a slender one-point lead into the final day of the league season after Ajax conceded a dramatic injury-time equaliser at Groningen, while the Eindhoven club comfortably beat Heracles.

The Amsterdammers looked to have ground out a nervy win thanks to Wout Weghorst’s close-range finish midway through the second half.

But as the clock ticked past 90 minutes, Groningen won a free-kick deep in Ajax territory. Remko Pasveer could only palm Mats Seuntjes’ testing shot into the path of Thijmen Blokzijl and the defender dispatched the rebound into the net to send shockwaves through the Ajax fans.

Ajax, who had taken just one point from their previous three league outings, took the lead in the first half when Danish defender Anton Gaaei scored from Bryan Brobbey’s lay-off after 27 minutes.

The pendulum swung again at the start of the second half when Thom van Bergen headed in an equaliser for Groningen. Francesco Farioli responded by bringing on Wout Weghorst and the big striker delivered after 68 minutes as he tapped in from Steven Berghuis’s pass.

PSV powered into a 4-0 lead against Heracles by half-time, with Ismael Saibari and Malik Tillman both scoring twice to bring the club’s goal tally for the season to 100. Mario Engels salvaged some pride for the Almelo club, one of the few teams with nothing meaningful to play for, with a cool finish in the 75th minute.

The results mean Peter Bosz’s side are now favourites to retain their league title when they travel to Sparta, while Ajax will have to beat FC Twente at home and hope their rivals drop points for the first time since losing in Amsterdam on March 30.

Feyenoord made sure of third place and a ticket for next season’s Champions League play-offs with a 2-0 win over RKC Waalwijk, who will need a miracle to avoid being relegated on the final day.

Willem II could have sealed 16th place with a point at home to PEC Zwolle, but after equalising in the 72nd minute through Jesse Bosch, they went behind again to Eliano Reijnders’ winner seven minutes later.

Their superior goal difference means they only have a remote chance of being overhauled by RKC for the relegation play-off place, while the other team that could have overtaken them, Almere City, could only draw 1-1 against Fortuna Sittard despite taking a first-half lead.

AZ Alkmaar prevailed 3-2 in a lively contest at Twente to win the battle for fifth place, while NEC and Heerenveen currently occupy the final two places for the Conference League play-offs.

NEC’s Bryan Linssen scored the goal of the day in a 3-0 win against NAC Breda with a shot from inside his own half that caught NAC goalkeeper Kostas Lamprou off his line.

Heerenveen lost to Mathis Suray’s late goal for cup winners Go Ahead Eagles, who are already assured of European football next season. NEC and Heerenveen could still be caught by Sparta, Groningen, PEC or Heracles on the last day.

Fortuna Sittard can also finish in the top half, but they will not contest the play-offs after revealing this week that they had failed to secure a licence from UEFA.

Utrecht will play in next season’s Conference League after Feyenoord’s win and their 1-1 draw with Sparta means they cannot finish higher than fourth.

Results

Almere City 1-1 Fortuna Sittard

Feyenoord 2-0 RKC Waalwijk

Go Ahead Eagles 1-0 Heerenveen

Groningen 2-2 Ajax

NEC Nijmegen 3-0 NAC Breda

PSV Eindhoven 4-1 Heracles Almelo

Twente Enschede 2-3 AZ Alkmaar

Utrecht 1-1 Sparta Rotterdam

Willem II Tilburg 1-1 PEC Zwolle

Fixtures Sunday May 18

Ajax v Twente Enschede

AZ Alkmaar v Almere City

Fortuna Sittard v Utrecht

Heerenveen v Feyenoord

Heracles Almelo v NEC Nijmegen

NAC Breda v Willem II Tilburg

PEC Zwolle v Groningen

RKC Waalwijk v Go Ahead Eagles

Sparta Rotterdam v PSV Eindhoven