Feyenoord and Ajax draw 1-1 as PSV are made to wait for title confirmation

A low-quality edition of the Klassieker between Feyenoord and Ajax resulted in a 1-1 draw on Sunday. Sean Steur and then a penalty converted by Jakub Moder resulted in the draw in De Kuip.

The final score means that little has changed in the battle for second this weekend. NEC failed to defeat Heerenveen earlier today, meaning that Feyenoord remains in second place with a three-point lead over NEC and a five-point gap behind Ajax. PSV, who would have been able to clinch the title if Ajax had won, will have to wait until after the international break to confirm their 27th league title.

Newly appointed Ajax interim manager Oscar Garcia made a surprising change to the Ajax line-up for the game, as Wout Weghorst was given the nod in the striker position. He was preferred to Kasper Dolberg, who started the game on the bench. Tsuyoshi Watanabe returned to the Feyenoord side after injury.

It was a dull first half, with the two teams' poor form this season on display. The solitary significant chance of the first half came in the 11th minute. A free kick was chipped into the box and met by Watanabe; his header was going in before Jorthy Mokio saved his side by heading the ball clear before it hit the net.

Ajax broke the deadlock in the 54th minute. A cross from Takehiro Tomiyasu was deflected to the edge of the area to Sean Steur, and the 18-year-old did not think twice, smashing a shot hard into the top corner for his first-ever Eredivisie goal.

The equalizer came from the spot in the 82nd minute. Substitute Kian Fitz Jim did not see Jordan Lotomba coming after Ajax had been caught napping from a short freeze kick, resulting in Fitz Jim making contact with the defender, and referee Danny Makkelie pointing to the spot after a VAR review. The penalty was taken and converted by Jakob Moder.

This led to Feyenoord pushing for a winning goal in the final stages of the game, with Maarten Paes being forced into a smart save to prevent Casper Tengstedt from scoring in the 93rd minute.

Both teams will now have a week off due to the international break.