FC Twente holds third place in the Eredivisie. The team of trainer Ron Jans was 3-0 too strong for RKC Waalwijk in the Grolsch Veste on Sunday, as a result of which Feyenoord, which will not play this weekend due to the upcoming Europa League match with Lazio, has passed in the ranking. Sem Steijn was the great hero on the side of Twente with two goals in the final phase of the first half.
Twente already thought they would take the lead earlier in the game. Ricky van Wolfswinkel slid the ball in from close range in the twentieth minute, so that the 1-0 appeared on the scoreboard in Enschede. After a check at the VAR, the home team’s opening goal was canceled due to a handball by Steijn prior to the goal. Twente was not put off by the deleted goal and continued to put pressure on RKC’s goal. The attacking intentions were rewarded ten minutes before half time. A low cross from the right by Václav Cerný was tapped in from close range by Steijn: 1-0.
The attacking midfielder was involved in a somewhat comical situation three minutes before half-time. Steijn, Joshua Brenet and Michel Vlap failed with attempts around the five-meter area of RKC. A short time later, Vlap saw a bang from the edge of the sixteen disappear next to the goal. In the final phase, the stronger Twente still managed to reach 2-0. Gijs Smal was too quick for a few RKC players with an individual action, and then put back around eleven meters. Steijn was there like the chickens to shoot the ball high into the goal of the Waalwijkers. A deserved and comfortable lead for the Tukkers halfway through.
With a 2-0 lead, there seemed to be nothing wrong with Twente, although RKC did issue a warning after an hour of play. Zakaria Bakkali had the ball after a cross for the header, but the substitute failed in a promising position. Halfway through the second half Bakkali saw a long shot disappear just wide of Lars Unnerstall’s goal. A minute later, the accurate Steijn was sidelined, with Mathias Kjølø as his replacement. The Norwegian substitute was unlucky when a placed shot went wide. The final chord was for Ricky van Wolfswinkel, who scored from a rebound a minute before the end: 3-0.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ajax | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 28 |
| 2 | PSV | 12 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 27 |
| 3 | AZ | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 26 |
| 4 | FC Twente | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 25 |
| 5 | Feyenoord | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 24 |
| 6 | Sparta Rotterdam | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 20 |
| 7 | FC Utrecht | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | -3 | 18 |
| 8 | sc Heerenveen | 12 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 17 |
| 9 | RKC Waalwijk | 12 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 14 |
| 10 | Go Ahead Eagles | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | -3 | 13 |
| 11 | Excelsior | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | -16 | 13 |
| 12 | Fortuna Sittard | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -7 | 12 |
| 13 | Fc Groningen | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -10 | 12 |
| 14 | Vitesse | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | -9 | 11 |
| 15 | NEC | 12 | 1 | 8 | 3 | -3 | 11 |
| 16 | SC Cambuur | 11 | 2 | 2 | 7 | -10 | 8 |
| 17 | FC Emmen | 12 | 1 | 4 | 7 | -15 | 7 |
| 18 | FC Volendam | 12 | 1 | 3 | 8 | -20 | 6 |