Defending champions PSV were the big winners on the opening weekend of the new Eredivisie season with a 5-1 win over Brabant rivals RKC Waalwijk.

Peter Bosz’s side overcame a shaky start to take a three-goal lead by half-time as Johan Bakayoko, Jerdy Schouten and Malik Tillman found the net.

Hirving Lozano, who will leave Eindhoven for San Diego in January, caught out goalkeeper Jeroen Howen with a long-range shot for the fourth and bagged another from close range, after Richard van der Venne had briefly reduced the arrears.

Ajax’s first league match under new coach Francesco Farioli ended with a narrow 1-0 win against Heerenveen. Kristian Hlynsson rounded off a slick passing move to score just before half-time as Farioli rested several key players ahead of the Europa League second-leg tie against Panathinaikos on Thursday.

Last season’s third-placed club Twente picked up where they left off as goals from Sam Lammers and Alec van Hoorenbeeck earned them a 2-1 win at NEC.

Groningen won the battle of the newly promoted clubs with a 4-1 win over NAC Breda, who were reduced to 10 men after just six minutes when Enes Mahmutovic was shown a red card for hauling down Jorg Schreuders in the penalty area.

Leandro Bacuna scored the resulting spot-kick and Groningen sewed up the match by half-time with strikes from Rui Mendes and Marco Rente. Dominik Janosek pulled one back for NAC from the penalty spot at the start of the second half, but the 19-year-old Schreuders had the last word when he finished off a counter-attacking move in the 68th minute.

Feyenoord miss chances

Feyenoord took an early lead against Willem II when 19-year-old Antoni Milambo fired in a loose ball in the penalty area, but the Rotterdammers failed to capitalise further on their first-half dominance and paid the price when Kyan Vaesen headed an equaliser past goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther in the 82nd minute.

A deflated Go Ahead Eagles suffered more misery after their European exit to Brann as they went down 2-0 at home to Fortuna Sittard, with both goals scored in the second half by Alen Halilovic and Makan Aiko.

Utrecht began the season with a 1-0 win against PEC Zwolle in an empty Galgenwaard stadium, a sanction imposed by the city’s mayor after fans rioted in the aftermath of their end-of-season play-off defeat to Go Ahead Eagles in May.

Ole Romeny scored Utrecht’s only goal after 16 minutes after Jens Toornstra pounced on a stray back-pass by PEC’s Davy van den Berg.

Red cards in Almere

AZ claimed the points in Almere in a match that featured more red cards than goals. Ibrahim Sadiq gave the club from Alkmaar the lead with a fine turn and shot after just four minutes, but AZ were reduced to 10 when Maxim Dekker was dismissed for a reckless sliding challenge.

It became 10 against 10 when the video referee spotted Almere’s Baptiste Guillaume kicking Wouter Goes off the ball in the penalty area, and the home side lost Ricardo Visus in the second half following the Spaniard’s two-footed tackle on Jordy Clasie.

Sparta and Heracles managed just three shots on target between them in a lacklustre encounter in Rotterdam that ended goalless.

Results

Friday

Groningen 4-1 NAC Breda

Saturday

Almere City 0-1 AZ Alkmaar

Feyenoord 1-1 Willem II Tilburg

NEC Nijmegen 1-2 Twente Enschede

PSV Eindhoven 5-1 RKC Waalwijk

Sunday

Ajax 1-0 Heerenveen

Go Ahead Eagles 0-2 Fortuna Sittard

Sparta Rotterdam 0-0 Heracles Almelo

Utrecht 1-0 PEC Zwolle