THE HAGUE, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Reigning Dutch champion, Ajax, suffered its first defeat of the 2020-21 season on Sunday against FC Groningen, while Feyenoord and PSV both booked wins.
Ajax had more possession and more chances in the first half, but it was Groningen that found the net after the restart. Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana stopped a shot from Groningen striker Jorgen Strand Larsen, but he had no answer to the rebound from 19-year-old forward Remco Balk.
While Ajax failed to create any more chances in its hunt for the equalizer, Ramon-Pascal Lundqvist hit the post on the other side. In the final minutes Ajax came close to a goal with both Dusan Tadic and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar hitting the post. The result is the first defeat for Ajax this season after three wins in its first three matches.
PSV beat Fortuna Sittard 2-0 in Eindhoven on Sunday and passed Ajax on the Eredivisie table. Donyell Malen opened the scoring on a pass from Eran Zahavi in the fifth minute. In the remainder of the first half, four PSV goals were disallowed by the VAR for different reasons, meaning the match remained tight until the final minutes. Noni Madueke sealed the result four minutes from time.
Also on Sunday Feyenoord was far too strong for Willem II in Tilburg. The home team went in front through Vangelis Pavlidis, but Ridgeciano Haps, Bryan Linssen and a brace by captain Steven Berghuis earned Feyenoord a convincing 4-1 win. AZ drew 4-4 at Sparta after surrendering a 4-0 lead in Rotterdam.
On Friday Heerenveen drew 1-1 at FC Utrecht and Vitesse beat Heracles Almelo 3-0 on Saturday. Feyenoord now leads the Eredivisie with 10 points after four matches. PSV and Heerenveen also have 10 points, but Feyenoord's goal difference is better. Vitesse and Ajax are fourth and fifth with nine points. Enditem
