Ajax stumbled for the second week in a row in their quest for a first Eredivisie title in three years with a 1-1 draw against Sparta.

Only a last-gasp equaliser by substitute Youri Regeer saved the Amsterdammers from a second defeat in a row, following a 4-0 defeat at Utrecht on Easter Sunday.

Regeer found the top corner in the seventh minute of injury time, just after Sparta looked to have snatched all three points in bizarre circumstances.

Goalkeeper Mateus was penalised for picking up a backpass with his hands, resulting in an indirect free-kick inside the area. The ball was tapped sideways to Mohamed Nassoh, whose shot was too hard for the diving Mateus to keep out.

Coach Francesco Farioli said: “I think he [Mateus] felt that one of Sparta’s players touched the ball with his feet, so it was a misjudgment. He had a good game and made two important saves in the first half.

“If one team deserved to win today, it was definitely Ajax. We have to keep working and secure direct qualification for the Champions League and move forward.”

Hope for PSV

The result means PSV, who beat Twente Enschede 3-1 on Thursday, can close the gap at the top to four points with three matches to play when they take on Fortuna Sittard next Sunday.

Ajax are also still not guaranteed a Champions League finish after third-placed Feyenoord beat PEC Zwolle 4-0 on Friday to retain a mathematical chance of catching the Amsterdammers.

In Sunday’s other matches, Almere City moved off the bottom with a goalless draw against cup winners Go Ahead Eagles, but are still four points adrift of 16th-placed Willem II. RKC are now in last place after losing 4-0 to Utrecht on Friday.

The Tilburgers extended their losing streak to eight matches as a neat finish by Ezequiel Bullaude was enough for Fortuna Sittard to take all three points from an insipid contest in Limburg.

Heerenveen took a step towards the Conference League play-offs as they dominated NEC but had only a Ion Nicolaescu penalty to show for their efforts. Twente and AZ are all but certain of taking the first two play-off spots, while six teams could still overtake Fortuna for the final place.

Results

Wednesday

Groningen 4-1 Heracles Almelo

Thursday

AZ Alkmaar 1-1 NAC Breda

PSV Eindhoven 1-3 Twente Enschede

Friday

Feyenoord 4-0 PEC Zwolle

RKC Waalwijk 0-4 Utrecht

Sunday

Ajax 1-1 Sparta Rotterdam

Fortuna Sittard 1-0 Willem II

Go Ahead Eagles 0-0 Almere City

Heerenveen 1-0 NEC Nijmegen