The 70th season of Eredivisie football got underway this weekend. With 31 goals and an abundance of skill on display, fans of the Dutch top tier were treated to a real spectacle as the excitement picked up exactly where it left off in 2024/25.
Four-goal thriller gets the league season off to a flying start
In the first half, Go Ahead Eagles looked to have moved on from defeat in the Cruyff Shield, as new boy Richonell Margaret crossed low into the box, forcing Shawn Adewoye to slide past his own keeper for the first goal of the campaign.
Fortuna responded well in first-half stoppage time as debutant Philip Brittijn poked home after Justin Hubner and Paul Gladon brought down a looping Kristoffer Peterson cross.
Early in the second half, Calvin Twigtโs scything challenge on Peterson saw his card go from yellow to red as VAR intervened. This was a major flashpoint, as now, Fortuna could keep the Eagles grounded in their final third. This was the case when substitutes Makan Aiko and Luka Tunjic linked up in the 85th minute for what looked like the winner.
However, the 10-man visitors were determined to leave with a point, and stuck everyone forward for a 94th-minute Dean James corner. Mattijs Branderhorst flapped through the crowd, and the ball landed fortuitously for Gerrit Nauber to bundle in as the home keeper screamed for a foul.
Saturday goal fest: Nijmegen and PSV lead by example
A goal-laden Saturday began in Nijmegen as the hosts put five past newly promoted Excelsior. Dirk Proper found the bottom-right corner from outside the box to open the scoring in the 14th minute, before a truly dominant display culminated in a second-half landslide at the Goffertstadion.
Koki Ogawaโs seven-minute brace saw an acrobatic volley and a towering header find the back of stand-in Tijmen Hollaโs net just before the hour. Goal number four saw the elder statesmen link up, as Bryan Linssen (34) was played in behind by Tjaronn Chery (37).
Chery went from provider to scorer as the game entered the final 10. He rifled a penalty into the top-right corner after Youssef El Kachati was brought down by keeper Holla, who had an Eredivisie debut to forget after replacing the injured Stijn van Gassel.
Feyenoord were the only Rotterdam side to get a positive result this weekend, as they beat NAC Breda 2-0 at De Kuip. Captain Sem Steijn took just three minutes to make a mark in his new colours, bending an excellent free-kick over the wall and into the bottom-left corner.
In a relatively one-sided game where Breda failed to register one big chance, Ayase Ueda notched the second goal in the 55th minute, firing in after a Steijn shot rebounded his way in the NAC box.
FC Volendam registered themselves strongly out of the newly-promoted sides, as they hung on to take home a point away at sc Heerenveen. Luuk Brouwersโ fourth-minute opener from a lovely Levi Smans free-kick delivery nearly set the tone, as in the second half, Jacob Trenskow seemingly added a second.
However, the initial run was just offside and enabled Volendam to fight back against their more dominant hostsโ disallowed goal. This they did with Ozan Kokcu. Skipping in from the left flank, his low fizzing effort back across silenced the Abe Lenstra Stadion.
Saturdayโs final game saw PSV stroll into fine league form against Sparta Rotterdam after last weekโs triumph over Go Ahead in the Johan Cruyff Shield.
Ruben van Bommel marked his start to life at his fatherโs old team with a quickly executed toe poke from the left that beat a sprawling PSV loanee Joel Drommel as he crashed into his near post. After a late first-half flurry of action, it was 3-0, as Ivan Perisic powerfully headed in a Joey Veerman corner and Sergino Dest smashed into the top right following fine interplay with Alassane Plea.
The second half continued in the same vein as the first. Five minutes in, it looked like Drommel was still feeling the effect of Van Bommelโs opener. Veerman shot from range, and the keeper let it trickle through his gloves inside the left post.
There was at least one positive for Sparta, as new signing from Twente, Sayfallah Ltaief, tapped in after Shunsuke Mito broke away and squared unselfishly. This was a flash in the pan for Sparta, who again were swept away by PSVโs flowing attacking football.
In the 70th minute, the hosts broke down the right and Ivan Perisic penetrated the box. He then pulled the ball back for Guus Til to hammer home with Drommel rooted. Seven minutes later, it was 6-1, as the Eindhoven clubโs second debutant got on the scoresheet. Another Veerman corner was decisive as Yarek Gasiorowski rose well to nod home.
Alkmaar and Utrecht end the weekend on a high
Where Saturday ended with a flurry of action, Sunday began with a smaller portion of goals, as PEC Zwolle beat FC Twente 1-0. Making his debut on loan from Groningen, Thijs Oosting was one of the men of the moment as he capped off a quick early move that was started by fellow debutant, goalkeeper Tom de Graaff.
Dylan Mbayo laid the ball off for Oosting, and the 25-year-old pinged an electric effort into the bottom-right corner with goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall rooted to the spot in the eighth minute. Twente had their chances, but against the solid De Graaff, they just couldnโt find a leveller.
AZ Alkmaar fired a warning shot to the upper reaches of the table in the dayโs second game, as they breezed past Groningen 4-1. Denso Kasius sparked the contest into life as he overlapped nicely with Ernest Poku to somehow squeeze the ball past Hidde Jurjus from the right byline.
After Jeroen Zoet watched a pass of his smash into the pressing Thom van Bergen in the 16th minute, his worries were long gone as Troy Parrott converted a penalty in the 18th. Fouled by Stije Resink in the lead-up, Parrott dusted himself down to caress his spot-kick into the bottom left. Resinkโs day got worse after this, as on 32โฒ, a Parrott header from a corner ricocheted off the midfielderโs back, hit the bar and went in for 3-0.
Marco Rente managed to make the score look a little more respectable in the 44th minute. He headed in a Younes Taha corner from the right, yet Alkmaar were back on the scoresheet to dispel any doubts late on.
Part of the double change that saw Ernest Poku emotionally leave the field as his move to Leverkusen draws nearer, Mateo Chavez was key in this move. He drove down the left flank and found Parrott in acres of space in the box, before the Irishman curled a fine strike back across into the top-right corner to bag his brace.
Ajax beat Telstar 2-0 in the dayโs third fixture. Although tasting defeat in this opening weekend, the visiting Velsen-Zuid side put on an impressive display. In fact, their 18 shots to Ajaxโs 15 showed a great attacking impetus and will hopefully carry over into the next few games.
Unfortunately for them, though, Ajax knew where the back of the net was, as Wout Weghorst bagged himself a goal in either half. On 19โฒ, the imposing striker ran onto a fine Steven Berghuis ball into the left channel before sweeping the ball into that corner. His second goal arrived quite a while later, as Berghuis was the provider again as he curled in the corner for Weghorst to nod past Koeman Jr. inside the last 10 minutes.
The final game of Matchweek 1 saw Utrecht comfortably dispatch Heracles Almelo at the Stadion Galgenwaard. The Domstedelingen gave a very firm account of themselves ahead of their midweek welcoming of Servette in the Europa League qualifiers. With his fine 33rd-minute header from Yoann Cathlineโs delicate cross, Gjivai Zechiรซl (21 years and 70 days) opened the scoring and became the youngest player to score on his Eredivisie debut for Utrecht since Rodney Sneijder in 2011.
Heracles struggled going forward, with the yellow cards to both Jizz Horncamp and Bryan Limbombe hinting at frustration against an organised Utrecht team. Mario Engelsโ unexpected hamstring injury early in the first half didnโt help either.
Regardless of their opponentsโ woes, Utrecht stormed further out in front in the second 45 minutes. David Min resumed the scoring in the 62nd minute. He followed up on a Souffian El Karouani shot that Fabian de Keijzer parried and fortuitously bundled it in. Less than 10 minutes later, Victor Jensen added a third.
Cathline popped the Danish midfielder skilfully, before he twisted and turned inside the box, only re-orienting himself to pass into the bottom-right corner. The final goal in the 79th minute saw substitutes combine. Derry Murkin crossed from the left and Dani de Wit rose well to head into the top-left corner.
League table after Matchweek 1
Top goalscorers after Matchweek 1
FotMob Team of the Week
GBeNeFNย |ย Max Bradfield
