AZ wins in Utrecht to stay on top; Sparta climbs to 6th

AZ Alkmaar is still top of the Eredivisie after last weekend’s fixtures. Pascal Jansen’s men defeated FC Utrecht away to stay a point ahead of Ajax. Sparta Rotterdam climbed to sixth with a win over FC Emmen as Vitesse Arnhem was plunged into more trouble with a loss to newly revitalized Fortuna Sittard.

AZ took beat Utrecht with two beautiful goals from a distance. Myron van Brederode and Yukinari Sugawara scored a goal each in each half, giving the Alkmaarders a two-goal lead before Moussa Sylla scored a late consolation goal for Utrecht.

AZ face Apollon Limassol in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday, with a win confirming their progress to the next round. This was Utrecht’s first loss in their last five games; they now sit in the ninth position.

Sparta Rotterdam climbed to a European spot with a win over lowly FC Emmen. Goals from Vito van Crooij and Ole Romeny meant the match was level in the 69th minute when Miguel Araujo was given a red card for Emmen. Sparta took advantage of the extra man with two goals in the last ten minutes from Bart Vriends and Mario Engels. The Rotterdammers climbed over Heerenveen, who lost to PSV earlier in the day.

Two managers with very contrasting starts to life at their new clubs met in Arnhem with an expected outcome. Phillip Cocu lost his second match in a row as Vitesse manager, while Julio Velazquez maintained his 100% win record as manager of Fortuna Sittard. Vitesse took the lead after 32 minutes through Bartosz Bialek. The Polish striker swept home a cross from Matus Bero. Fortuna completed a comeback with goals from Arianit Ferati and Remy Vita.

The result will have done nothing to encourage Vitesse fans, whose side has the joint lowest points tally in the League. The side’s superior goal difference to FC Volendam and FC Emmen means the Arnhemmers find themselves in 16th place.