Two second-half goals by Wout Weghorst ensured Ajax came away with all three points from a feast of football in Almelo.

Heracles twice took the lead in the first half, the second time when Mario Engels smashed in a shot from inside his own half after latching onto a stray pass by Josip Sutalo.

Ajax were level within six minutes when Bertrand Traoré, who had set up the initial equaliser for Davy Klaasen, scored off the underside of the crossbar.

Weghorst put the Amsterdammers in the 62nd minute, five minutes after replacing Brian Brobbey when Jorrel Hato presented him with a simple chance.

Luka Kulenovic gave Heracles hope of snatching a point when he equalised with a glancing volley, but Weghorst had the last word from the penalty spot after he was brought down by Thomas Bruns.

Ajax moved up to third place behind Utrecht, who set a club record with their sixth league win in a row at Groningen thanks to a goal by French winger Yoann Cathine.

Schouten blow for PSV

PSV stay five points clear after winning their ninth straight league match this season at AZ Alkmaar. AZ never recovered from an early red card for David Møller Wolfe for bringing down Guus Til, as the champions took full advantage through Luuk de Jong and Noa Lang.

However, PSV suffered a blow in the build-up to their Champions League trip to Paris when Jerdy Schouten suffered a knee injury in the second half. Coach Peter Bosz confirmed that the midfielder would not be fit for Tuesday’s game.

The other Champions League contenders, Feyenoord, warmed up for their visit to Benfica with a convincing 5-1 victory at Go Ahead Eagles that kept them level on points with Ajax.

Quinten Timber capped a fine first-half display with the third goal in the 44th minute, but the high point came in the second half when Ayase Ueda finished off a flowing move, set up by a crisp pass by Ibrahim Osman and Antoni Milambo’s stepover.

RKC agony

Bottom club RKC picked up their first point of the season against Twente, but it was scant consolation after they let a 2-1 lead slip in the 91st minute when Carel Eiting headed in a corner.

RKC had come back from 1-0 down to take the lead at the start of the second half when SIlvester van der Water profited from a blunder by goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall.

The team still looking for their first win, Almere, were given a huge helping hand when Sparta defender Boyd Reith passed the ball into his own net in the 10th minute to give the Flevoland club a 2-0 lead. But the Rotterdammers came back in the second half to share the spoils, with goals from Camiel Neghli and Pelle Clement.

NAC claimed their first away win of the season as a pair of close-range finishes by Icelandic striker Elías Már Ómarsson was enough to overcome an uninspired PEC Zwolle, despite Ka

j de Rooij reducing the deficit with a flashing volley nine minutes from time.

Robin van Persie’s woes at Heerenveen deepened as they went down to a 3-0 defeat in NIjmegen to slip to 16th place. Debutant Vito van Crooij took just three minutes to find the net when he pounced on a blocked shot, then added a second and NEC’s third in the 65th minute, shortly after Bram Nuytinck had doubled the lead with a header.

Fortuna Sittard had the better of a goalless draw at Willem II but were unable to find a way past goalkeeper Thomas Didillon-Hödl, although the Frenchman was lucky to escape with a yellow card when he brought down Makan Aïko outside the penalty area.

Results

Saturday

AZ Alkmaar 1-2 PSV Eindhoven

Go Ahead Eagles 1-5 Feyenoord

NEC Nijmegen 3-0 Heerenveen

RKC Waalwijk 2-2 Twente Enschede

Sparta Rotterdam 2-2 Almere City

Sunday

Groningen 0-1 Utrecht

Heracles Almelo 3-4 Ajax

PEC Zwolle 1-2 NAC Breda

Willem II Tilburg 0-0 Fortuna Sittard