Eredivisie roundup: Ajax extend lead to three points

Ajax opened up a three-point cushion at the top of the Eredivisie table over the winter break after Riechedly Bazoer's second-half goal secured a 2-1 victory against De Graafschap.

Arkadiusz Milik got Ajax up and running with a header from Nemanja Gudelj's cross in the 26th minute, but the division's bottom side bounced back before the break.

Kristopher Vida's equaliser on 38 minutes stunned the Amsterdam Arena and, for a while, it looked like De Graafschap may sneak back to Doetinchem with a Christmas bonus.

However Bazoer's right-footed effort 20 minutes from time ensured Frank de Boer's side moved clear of their immediate title rivals.

Feyenoord, who came into the weekend in second place, slipped to third after a surprise 3-1 defeat away at NEC Nijmegen, despite taking the lead at Stadion de Goffert.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side, who saw PSV Eindhoven leapfrog them on Saturday, got off to a good start when Tonny Vilhena fired home a free-kick after 20 minutes.

However, Janio Bikel levelled on the hour mark and NEC went on to clinch all three points with further goals from Anthony Limbombe and Christian Santos.

At the other end of the table Willem II moved further away from trouble with a 3-2 victory over fellow strugglers Roda JC.

Tomi Juric opened the scoring for Roda with a sixth-minute penalty, but a quick-fire double from Dries Wuytens turned the game on its head.

Nick van der Velden added a third for Willem II just after half-time, while Rostyn Griffiths' late goal for Roda was too little too late.

Cambuur did their chances of survival no harm with a 4-1 triumph away at Excelsior, but they remain in the relegation play-off place.

Bartholomew Ogbeche opened the scoring for the visitors and the former Nigeria international added a second with 19 minutes remaining.

There was still time for three goals in the closing stages, with Jack Byrne and Jamiro Monteiro wrapping the game up for Cambuur, while Kevin Vermeulen grabbed an injury-time goal for Excelsior.

Elsewhere, Heerenveen were hammered 4-0 at home by ADO Den Haag who, as a result, leapfrogged their hosts in the table.

Aaron Meijers, Danny Bakker, Tom Beugelsdijk and Kevin Jansen were all on the scoresheet at the Abe Lenstra Stadion.