A goal on his debut by new signing Mario Götze helped PSV go clear at the top of the Eredivisie with a comfortable 3-0 win in Zwolle.

The German World Cup winner took just eight minutes to find the net when he latched on to a slack back pass by PEC midfielder Clint Leemans and tucked the ball away from close range.

PSV wrapped up the game by half-time with further strikes by Cody Gakpo and Donyell Malen, though the home side could have made it more competitive if Reza Ghoochannejhad had converted a 29th-minute penalty with the score at 2-0.

‘I’m happy to be back on the pitch again,’ said Götze, who was signed on transfer deadline day after being released by Borussia Dortmund at the end of last season. ‘I hadn’t trained with a team for two or three months so I was just happy to make my debut today.’

Ajax moved into second place with a 5-1 win over Heerenveen, who started the weekend as joint leaders. Dusan Tadic opened the scoring after less than four minutes with a clinical turn and shot and added a penalty before the half-hour mark.

Davy Klaassen marked his return to Amsterdam by scoring a second penalty after Tadic had been substituted, while Mohammed Kudus and Antony also got on the scoresheet.

Vitesse Arnhem are level on points with Ajax thanks to a 2-0 win at ADO Den Haag, despite playing the second half with 10 men. Oussame Tannane earned himself two yellow cards in less than a minute with a foul-mouthed outburst directed at referee Richard Martens, but a goal in each half by Armando Broja ensured the points went to Arnhem.

Feyenoord drop points

Feyenoord slipped back to fourth with a 1-1 draw in the Rotterdam derby in De Kuip. Ridgeciano Haps fired the ball through a crowd of players to put Dick Advocaat’s side ahead just before half-time, but shortly after the break Lennart Thy levelled the scores from the penalty spot after Abdou Harroui was brought down on the edge of the box.

FC Twente continued their bright start with a 3-0 win in Tilburg, breaking the deadlock after just 75 seconds through Danilo. A fine strike by left-back Jayden Oosterwolde and a second by Danilo, tucking in the rebound from his own penalty, made the points safe.

RKC Waalwijk are off the bottom of the table thanks to Saïd Bakari’s low drive after 25 minutes and a penalty save by Kostas Lamprou secured a 1-0 win in Almelo. They moved above Sparta and Fortuna Sittard, who surrendered a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 in Emmen.

AZ surrendered a two-goal lead for the third time in four matches at home to VVV. They seemed to be cruising after Jesper Karlsson’s wonder strike from near the touchline and a tidy finish by Calvin Stengs, but the dismissal of Jonas Svensson for an ugly tackle on 41 minutes disrupted their momentum. VVV scored twice in the last five minutes, the second a controversial penalty, to leave Arne Slot’s side still seeking their first win.

Arjen Robben made his second appearance since returning to Groningen as a 75th-minute substitute, but was unable to help his team-mates find the net in a goalless draw with Utrecht.

Results

Saturday

AZ Alkmaar 2-2 VVV Venlo

Heracles Almelo 0-1 RKC Waalwijk

Willem II Tilburg 0-3 Twente Enschede

Sunday

ADO Den Haag 0-2 Vitesse Arnhem

Ajax 5-1 Heerenveen

Emmen 2-2 Fortuna Sittard

Feyenoord 1-1 Sparta Rotterdam

Groningen 0-0 Utrecht

PEC Zwolle 0-3 PSV Eindhoven