Ajax tied again in their own stadium, but the defeat of the championship leader left Míchel Sánchez's team without getting close to the top of the Eredivisie. At the Johan Cruyff Arena a 1-1 draw against NEC Nijmegen was sealed, with a header from Tolu Arokodare in the seventh minute and a penalty converted by Marc-André terStegen in the 19th minute. The scoreboard remained unchanged and the Dutch club remained in fifth position in the table, with 15 points after eight rounds.
The tie came after a previous victory for Ajax, 2‑2, against Excelsior, where the team also showed its inability to overcome the leader. The presence of terStegen, on loan from Barcelona, was not enough to break the streak of draws. Ajax fans expected a comeback, but NEC held their defense and left the score tied until the end of the match.
Meanwhile, Gio vanBronckhorst's Feyenoord took advantage of the defeat by AZ Alkmaar to climb to the top of the table. The Rotterdam club won 2‑0 at De Kuip, with goals from Nacho Ferri and the Spanish Javi López, on loan from Real Sociedad. With 20 points, Feyenoord is one point ahead of PSV, who beat Heerenveen 2-0 on Friday, and also ahead of AZ.
Ajax, which had remained in fourth place before the national team break, was forced to accept the drop from the lead. With the defeat of AZ, Míchel Sánchez's team lost the opportunity to close the gap and continue in the race for the title. The club will continue to look for consistency in its league matches to regain its position in the table.
The next challenge for Ajax will be their next matchup in the Eredivisie, where they will have to find a way to convert their opportunities into goals and prevent Feyenoord from maintaining their lead. Meanwhile, Feyenoord will continue to put pressure on the other teams to consolidate their leading position, hoping to maintain the advantage over PSV and AZ in the coming rounds.