Ajax were made to work far harder than had seemed likely to see off Twente.
Ajax were made to work far harder than had seemed likely to see off Twente.The champions seemed on course for a comfortable afternoon's work when leading 3-0 after 46 minutes, however Twente fought bravely but could not find the leveller they craved.
Tom de Mul fired Ajax ahead on the half-hour and skipper Rafael van der Vaart doubled the advantage with a strike five minutes before the interval.
An injury crisis saw Nourdin Boukhari return from the wilderness and he pressed his claims for a regular start with the ball which provided Zlatan Ibrahimovic with the chance to make it 3-0.
Ajax eased off the gas and this allowed Twente to claim a foothold in the game.
Karim Touzani handed Twente a lifeline and they tested Ajax's nerves when Blaise N'Kufo fired home 25 minutes from time.
However, Ajax regrouped and Ronald Koeman's men withstood some late Twente pressure to claim the three points.
Feyenoord turned on the style at De Kuip, as they handed out a 6-1 drubbing to De Graafschap.
Dirk Kuyt was the star of the show, netting a hat-trick inside an hour.
Romeo Castelen (2) and Salomon Kalou were Feyenoord's other scorers, with Jhon van Beukering netting a consolation for De Graafschap.
RKC Waalwijk came away from their trip to Groningen with a point after grinding out a goalless draw, while Koen van de Laak's late strike gave Den Bosch a 1-0 win over ADO Den Haag.
