Dutch Eredivisie, Week 24: Twente Smash PSV And AZ Alkmaar Move To The Top

Twente went to the Philips Stadion looking an unlikely bet to get the three points they needed to get level with PSV Eindhoven in the table. After all, PSV has been incredibly potent at home all season with 10 wins in 11 ties and they had already gone to Enschede and come away with a draw, but Twente had no care for what was expected. They shot ahead 4-0 in the first half and finished off a 6-2 thrashing of PSV despite playing nearly a half with just 10 men.

The visitors were ahead within 10 minutes when PSV’s defense failed to close down Ola John, who ripped a shot from 25 yards to put Twente in front. It took just 10 more minutes for Twente to double their lead when Luuk de Jong played Willem Janssen in for the simple finish before Peter Wisgerhof made it 3-0 and de Jong’s diving header gave the visitors a 4-0 lead at the break.

The Dutch Eredivisie isn’t known for parity. With Ajax and PSV Eindhoven, and the occasional challenge from Twente, Feyenoord or AZ Alkmaar, the league is basically a two-team race. Even when other teams get involved, though, history says that there won’t be a ton of teams in contention for the title. Well, this season has no care for history, because as we head into the 24th round of matches, six teams can legitimately be called in the title race.

PSV leads the league, but they are followed by AZ Almaar, Twente, Heerenveen, Ajax and Feyenoord, giving the league a top six that is separated by just seven points. When teams are that tightly packed together, every match could be the one that puts you right there near the top or facing a steep climb to get back in the race. When you play a fellow top six team, as PSV and Twente do this week, it really matters. It also makes things very confusing.