PSV Eindhoven equalled their own Eredivisie record by beating Excelsior 3-1 to extend their winning streak to 17 matches since the start of the season.

Luuk de Jong scored twice in five minutes early in the first half and completed his hat-trick in the 69th minute to secure a comfortable win.

The result means Peter Bosz’s side have beaten every one of their opponents in the first half of the league season, while De Jong became the 10th most prolific goalscorer in the history of the Dutch league, with 164 goals.

Bosz said he was “unbelievably proud” of his players, but the mood in the dressing-room was muted after Excelsior pulled a late goal back and came close to scoring a second.

“The way we finished was dreadful,” he said. “I tried to congratulate the boys, but they weren’t very happy in the dressing room, and rightly so.”

Feyenoord slip

PSV also extended their lead to 12 points after Feyenoord surrendered a 2-0 lead to draw against NEC in Rotterdam. Goalkeeper Justin Bijlow misjudged a low shot by Magnus Mattson in the 53rd minute for the equaliser, after Dirk Proper had pulled a goal back from a set-piece at the end of the first half.

Twente Enschede opened up a four-point gap over AZ Alkmaar in third place by coming from behind to beat their rivals 2-1.

Jens Odgaard tapped in the opener for AZ after just four minutes, but two goals by the Costa Rican Manfred Ugalde claimed the points for Twente.

Ajax prevailed in the battle for fifth place in Deventer, but had to work for it in a frenetic encounter as Go Ahead Eagles twice equalised before Devyne Rensch beat the offside trap to squeeze in a winner.

That result allowed Sparta to move ahead of Go Ahead in sixth place after they won 2-0 at Fortuna, with Japanese winger Shunsuke Mito making an immediate impact by scoring the opening goal in his first game since arriving in Rotterdam three weeks ago.

Basement battles

Almere City and Heracles both scored vital wins in relegation clashes, with Almere winning 1-0 at Volendam with a goal from Thomas Robinet, while new coach Erwin van de Looi steered Heracles to their first win since November at RKC.

Vitesse moved off the bottom of the table following a goalless draw at home to Utrecht, while PEC Zwolle and Heerenveen also shared the points after Ché Nunnely bundled in an injury-time equaliser for the Frisian club.

Results

Friday

RKC Waalwijk 1-2 Heracles Almelo

Saturday

Fortuna Sittard 0-2 Sparta Rotterdam

PSV Eindhoven 3-1 Excelsior

Twente Enschede 2-1 AZ Alkmaar

Sunday

Feyenoord 2-2 NEC Nijmegen

Go Ahead Eagles 2-3 Ajax

PEC Zwolle 2-2 Heerenveen

Volendam 0-1 Almere City