With Ajax, FC Twente, and Feyenoord all getting rest ahead of their upcoming European fixtures, a shortened game week consisting of just six games was all the Eredivisie had to offer this past weekend.
The weekend kicked off Friday evening with a game involving one of the two teams from the top five - FC Utrecht. The third-placed team visited Heracles Almelo knowing a win would keep them in second-placed Ajax's stride.
With Sebastien Haller leading the line for the second game running, Utrecht got off to a good start and almost claimed the lead through Haller and Yoann Cathline.
The high-flying visitors eventually had to concede the opener when Thomas Bruns bagged his second goal in three games with 30 minutes remaining, coming after a bright opening phase of the second half from Heracles.
The home side kept on controlling most of the second half but had to swallow a late equaliser when Utrecht standout Souffian El Karouani very neatly converted a free-kick one minute into injury time and salvaged a point for Ron Jans' side.
Not even 24 hours later, PSV would host NAC Breda in what should've been the game which would see the home side return to winning ways after two winless league matches since the restart.
But instead of a fierce start to a revenge game, PSV would concede first yet again when Feyenoord loanee Leo Sauer put NAC in front after 26 minutes, possibly throwing the home fans into an even further spiral.
However, Guus Til saved PSV from half-time despair with two goals before the break, handing PSV their first lead in an Eredivisie game in over a month. American international Ricardo Pepi all but guaranteed PSV the victory four minutes into injury time, but they would not keep the goal clean for the remainder of the game after Kacper Kostorz scored NAC's second just two minutes later.
The story of PSV's recent disappointments has been one of defensive regression.
After the reigning champions conceded just 13 goals in the opening 17 games of the Eredivisie campaign, they conceded more than half that in the three games following the Christmas break with AZ, PEC Zwolle, and NAC Breda scoring a total of seven goals against the Eindhoven team.
PSV conceded at least two goals in the last three consecutive league games, making this the third streak of such in the last ten years. In total, PSV have conceded at least two goals in three consecutive league games just nine times this century. For comparison: Ajax follow PSV with 13 of such streaks.
But even with all the defensive malfunctioning, PSV are still top of the league and are four points clear for the time being. With Ajax's next game being the 'Klassieker' against Feyenoord, who knows how big PSV's lead will be after next week.
As big a game that will be for the two giants, just as big was the Derby of the North between FC Groningen and Robin van Persie's sc Heerenveen.
With Heerenveen trying to fix their reputation and the team morale after the gutting cup defeat away at amateurs Quick Boys, a derby win against severely struggling Groningen would give the team a major boost.
On the opposite side stood an FC Groningen team which had won just two league games since the second week of the campaign and more importantly hadn't won a derby since November of 2018.
After an hour of gritty derby football, Groningen academy product and Italian youth international Luciano Valente made a sold out Euroborg erupt with just his second goal of the campaign - one which would decide the derby and earn Groningen only its third derby win in the last ten years.
Groningen manager Dick Lukkien relished the manic home support after the pivotal victory.
"The stadium was magical tonight," said Lukkien. "There was a good atmosphere and then there is a nice reciprocity with a team that goes all out and gives everything."
Afterwards, Sunday's games gave PEC Zwolle and Sparta immense boosts in their battles against relegation.
Just a week after their impressive win over league leaders PSV, PEC beat Fortuna Sittard 4-1, partially thanks to a Dylan Vente brace. The win put PEC at 23 points, which gives the team a six-point gap to the relegation zone.
Later on the day, Sparta Rotterdam manager Maurice Steijn finally claimed his first win in his second stint at the club when struggling Sparta beat Europa League outfit AZ 2-1 after a chaotic apotheosis.
After Shunsuke Mito put the visitors in front after 72 minutes, AZ's golden substitute Mexx Meerdink scored his third goal in four league games three minutes into stoppage time.
But Steijn's Sparta wouldn't leave without the three points, as shown by Arno Verschueren's thunderous goal just two minutes later - a goal which would also end a frustrating search for a goal for the Belgian midfielder who hadn't scored all season after scoring a combined 18 goals in the two campaigns prior.
Steijn, who managed Ajax during their downfall in late 2023, was in charge of his ninth game in Alkmaar and finally got his first win since getting fired by the record champions. With a home game against FC Groningen next on the schedule, Steijn and Sparta will be hoping to give their morale yet another boost.
Winners of the Week
The fierce derby between FC Groningen and sc Heerenveen started with the tragic news of a Groningen fan having collapsed just before kick-off. News of his eventual passing later reached the stadium and gave the win an emotional extra layer.
Groningen had been struggling to find form and last in early November when Willem II left the far North after a 2-0 defeat. Five league games later, Groningen finally claim their fifth win of the season after securing their fifth consecutive clean sheet in a home game.
FC Groningen, nicknamed 'The Pride of the North', have been struggling mightily in their first Eredivisie season after clinching promotion at the first time of asking. Once a KNVB Cup winner and in recent times more than once a participant of the UEFA Cup and Europa League, they were relegated following the 2022/23 season after a period of severe mismanagement and underperformance.
Having built newfound success on a foundation made from academy products, 'FCG' found their way back to the Eredivisie after a sensational end of the 2023/24 season in the Eerste Divisie in which they snatched a win away at Telstar in the final seconds before beating rivals Roda JC on the last day of the regular season in a straight battle for automatic promotion.
After winning the opening two games of the current Eredivsie campaign and drawing the next three, seven losses followed in the next eight league games, leaving Groningen gasping for air in the lower regions of the table.
But after wining their first derby in nearly seven years, the former team of the likes of Luis Suarez, Arjen Robben, Virgil van Dijk, and Ronald Koeman hope to build on newfound optimism and the glimmer of hope in dire times in the Euroborg.
Losers of the Week
On the other side of the derby win stood a defeated Heerenveen side which lost their third consecutive match in all competitions.
The negative streak started just a week-and-a-half ago in the foggy dunes of Katwijk aan Zee, a seaside town which amateur club Quick Boys call home. The surprising amateurs beat Heerenveen 3-2 after extra time and seemingly sent the team into a spiral.
Heerenveen, now managed by Premier League legend Robin van Persie, won the Eredivisie match leading up to the cup tie with 4-2 away at NAC Breda but lost both games after that disastrous Thursday night in Katwijk aan Zee, first conceding a 2-0 home defeat to Ajax and now losing their first 'Derby of the North' since November 2018.
With these losses, Heerenveen missed the opportunity to really solidify their place in the hunt for a spot in the playoffs for European football. The Frisian side have 24 points to their name, just one fewer than Fortuna Sittard, currently the holders of the last playoff spot.
With FC Twente, AZ, and PSV all coming up in the next five weeks, Van Persie will really have to step up his game if he wants to have a shot at playing in the Conference League next season and turn his debut season as manager into a resounding success.
Goal of the Week
Imagine this: 91st minute, you and your team are down 1-0 and you're fighting to stay in the title race.
It's a scenario many young talents will have dreamt of in the tireless chase of their football dreams and now a scenario Souffian El Karouani has turned into a reality.
The Dutch-Moroccan left-back found himself in a situation in which he could either crown himself a hero or send his team packing in a crucial part of the season.
What followed was a moment of magic, proving El Karouani does and will not blink when the lights get brightest.
Team of the Week
After netting two goals in PSV's first league win of 2025, Guus Til has earned himself the title of Player of the Week with a Flashscore rating of 9.2. Til is joined by team-mates Luuk de Jong and Joey Veerman after their roles in the 3-2 win over NAC Breda.
Souffian El Karouani snatched the third-highest rating of the week after securing a point for FC Utrecht with his last-minute free-kick.
Along with PSV, FC Groningen have three players in this week's Team of the Week after their derby win over Heerenveen. Midfielder Stije Resink stole the show with a complete performance in the pivot, earning high praise from his manager:
"He played a sterling game, there is no doubt about that. I also think Stije is just a very good, functional player, who is starting to get used more and more to the switch from reactive to proactive football," said Dick Lukkien.
Sparta's Shunsuke Mito's opening goal against AZ and PEC Zwolle's Dylan Vente brace away at Fortuna Sittard also made their way into the best XI of this past week's Eredivisie.