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Eredivisie roundup: FC Utrecht suffer first loss, AZ drop points in Volendam

The second round of the Eredivisie brought FC Utrecht their first loss and saw AZ drop valuable points away at FC Volendam.

Sparta - FC Utrecht: 2-1European outfit FC Utrecht were dealt their first defeat of the season as Sparta Rotterdam eked out a 2-1 win in the final minutes.

Ron Jans opted for Dani de Wit as Utrecht's lone striker after Noah Ohio disappointed against Servette in Thursday's UEFA Europa League qualifier.

The transfer did not pay off very soon as Norwegian midfielder Joshua Kitolano fired Sparta in front with a curling effort in the top-right corner.

Utrecht, who struggled in the first half, came back in the second through De Wit, who converted from a corner - the sixth set-piece goal from Utrecht this season already.

But Ron Jans' men couldn't reward themselves for a strong second half.

Joshua Kitolano beautifully controlled a deep ball in Utrecht's box, after which Mike van der Hoorn slid past and touched the ball with his hand, prompting referee Allard Lindhout to put the ball on spot in the 87th minute.

It became the afternoon of the Norwegians in Rotterdam when striker Tobias Lauritsen converted from the spot and handed Sparta their first win of the 2025/26 season.

FC Volendam - AZ: 2-2The Kras Stadion in Volendam erupted after 90 minutes as FC Volendam grabbed their first point of the campaign and kept Conference League hopefuls AZ to a 2-2 draw.

The recovered Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro passed the ball into the feet of FC Volendam midfielder Gibson Yah, which led to the first goal of the afternoon when winger Aurelio Oehlers finished a cross from Ozan Kokcu.

AZ, where Mexx Meerdink was put on the bench after a rather disappointing European outing against Vaduz, came back a mere nine minutes later via Ibrahim Sadiq, who headed a Sven Mijnans cross into Van Oevelen's goal.

Irish hitman Troy Parrott gave AZ their first lead of the day after Kees Smit intercepted the ball and set the Irishman up with a pinpoint ball, which the Irishman fired in the top corner in the 56th minute.

It was Parrott's ninth goal of this young season.

AZ had dominated the first half in terms of possession and hardly gave Volendam a opportunity, but let the home side come back when former Chelsea defender Xavier Mbuyamba headed home from a corner, and Owusu-Oduro committed another mistake by missing the ball completely.

A disappointing afternoon for AZ will not set them up with much confidence ahead of their UEFA Conference League play-off tie in Bulgaria against Levski Sofia.

For FC Volendam, the Fisherman's Derby between them and Telstar is next on the schedule, with kick-off planned for Saturday, August 23rd, at 21.

00 CET.

Key match statsBetopickNAC Breda - Fortuna Sittard: 2-1Former Tottenham Hotspur and Germany super talent Lewis Holtby made his presence known immediately as the German midfielder shone in NAC's 2-1 win over Fortuna Sittard.

The 34-year-old Holtby, who arrived at NAC earlier this week, added much-needed experience to NAC's midfield and provided an immediate spark when he put NAC in front after 23 minutes, smashing the ball in Branderhorst's goal from a short distance.

The German mastermind proved vital for the team again as he set up Juha Talvitie's 2-0 in the 57th minute.

However, the Finnish winger deserves the bulk of the praise with his fantastic top-corner effort that left Branderhorst rooted in the grass.

NAC's organisation fell apart after Holtby was subbed off, and Mohammed Ihattaren's debut added some crucial creativity to Fortuna.

The former wunderkind became crucial soon after coming on, providing the assist to Philip Brittijn's 2-1 from a corner.

Fortuna pushed, but would not come close anymore as NAC Breda won their first game since January.

Up next for NAC is the away game at NEC Nijmegen, who've won both of their first two Eredivisie games.

Go Ahead Eagles - Ajax: 2-2Title hopefuls Ajax dropped their first points of the season away at reigning KNVB Beker winners Go Ahead Eagles, who snatched a 2-2 draw from the Amsterdam side's hands.

To read all about their spectacular game, find our full match report here.

FC Twente - PSV: 0-2Reigning champions PSV booked a clinical victory away at FC Twente, who were beaten 2-0 in a game that got overshadowed by Alassane Plea's seemingly significant knee injury.

To read about PSV's win, check out our full match report here.