FC Twente beat AZ at home; Feyenoord let a two-goal lead slip at home to NEC
FC Twente beat AZ Alkmaar on Saturday evening in the Grolsch Veste to increase the gap to four points between the two sides. Manfred Ugalde was the hero for Joseph Oosting’s side, scoring twice after an early goal by Jens Odgaard had given the Alkmaarders the lead.
The young Danish striker stuck a leg out to divert Mayckel Lahdo’s inch-perfect cross into the net after just three minutes played in the match. It was Odgaard’s first goal in 15 league matches this season.
Twente equalized four minutes before halftime. Karel Eiting’s corner was disappointing but was headed back to the midfielder by an AZ player. Eiting put in a much better cross on this occasion, finding the just 1.73 meters centre forward who headed home.
Ugalde got his second in the 70th minute. Youngster Denso Kasius failed to clear the ball in his own box, resulting in it looping up to Ugalde, who only had to follow home from point-blank range to gift his side the three points. Twente is now four points ahead of AZ in third.
It was another excellent weekend for the league leaders PSV as Feyenoord inexplicably gave away a 2-0 lead at home to NEC Nijmegen. The Rotterdammers are now 12 points behind Peter Bosz’s side.
It was all going to plan for Arne Slot’s side in de Kuip when Javairo Dilrosun opened the scoring after 16 minutes. The winger received the ball from a deflection on the right wing before putting it on his stronger left foot and curling it into the far corner.
Feyenoord doubled their lead in the 28th minute through Santiago Gimenez. Mats Wieffer drifted into the box before backheeling it to the Mexican striker, who smashed it high into the net. It was Gimenez’s 19th goal in the Eredivisie this season, putting him top of the goalscorer table.
NEC got a goal back in the best possible time for a team, right before halftime. Rober chipped a free kick into the box, which was met by Koki Ogawa, landing perfectly in the path of Dirk Proper for a tap-in.
The away side got their equalizer in the 53rd minute. Magnus Mattsson’s shot from distance went in despite goalkeeper Justin Bijlow getting a hand on it. The wet weather conditions probably did not help the Oranje international, but he will be disappointed that he didn’t keep it out.
It would take a minor miracle for the reigning champions to retain their crown this season. PSV still have a perfect record after 17 matches.