Vitesse suffered an expensive point loss on Saturday evening. At home, Thomas Letsch’s team against FC Groningen was early with ten due to a red card from Lois Openda, after which it completely collapsed: 1-3. With a win, Vitesse would be in a shared third place with Feyenoord with 39 points. Groningen records the first Eredvisie victory since
at the end of November, when Fortuna Sittard (1-4) was won.
In a preserved first fifteen minutes, the Arnhem team had the better of the game. However, there were no real highlights, except for the two beautiful passes by Thomas Buitink that just didn’t end up in the right place. On the other hand, Jeroen Houwen was awakened by a long shot from Jörgen Strand Larsen. Even after that, the teams didn’t really make it difficult for each other. The most talked-about moment of the first half took place after 34 minutes. Vitesse attacker Openda planted his elbow in Mike te Wierik’s ribcage, which referee Dennis Higler initially missed. After a short VAR check, however, Higler knew enough and sent Openda off the field with an immediate red.
???? The goalkeeper drama continues in the Eredivisie. This time Groningen goalkeeper Peter Leeuwenburgh makes a terrible mistake… #? #VITGRO pic.twitter.com/8ypnlLMCWK
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) January 22, 2022
It was exactly what Groningen needed. Tomas Suslov placed a free kick perfectly on the head of Strand Larsen, who outwitted Houwen with a sharp header: 0-1. Buitink made a half attempt before the halftime signal, but that was it in terms of entertainment for the tea. Thomas Letsch’s team went on to play with a lot of risk after the break, chasing the equalizer. The spaces became large, from which Bjorn Meijer almost took advantage in the 51st minute. On the other hand, Vitesse also became threatening a few times, but Buitik and Adrian Grbic were not focused. Halfway through the second half, the Arnhem team capitulated again.
Tomas Suslov was able to steam up from his own half and served Strand Larsen. His attempt initially stranded on Houwen, but in the rematch the Norwegian delivered the ball to De Leeuw, who worked his way in: 0-2. The resistance of the home team was now really broken. Substitute Daniël van Kaam lifted the margin to three barely four minutes later, by hitting the ball with a dry bang of about eighteen meters. A blunder by Peter Leeuwenburgh fifteen minutes before the end, Alais Oroz was able to make the connecting goal. Vitesse did not get any further, however. This means that the Arnhem team remains in fourth place in the Eredivisie; Groningen rises to eleventh place in the ranking.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PSV | 19 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 23 | 46 |
| 2 | Ajax | 19 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 55 | 45 |
| 3 | Feyenoord | 19 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 24 | 39 |
| 4 | Vitesse | 20 | 11 | 3 | 6 | -1 | 36 |
| 5 | AZ | 19 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 35 |
| 6 | FC Twente | 19 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 35 |
| 7 | FC Utrecht | 19 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 29 |
| 8 | SC Cambuur | 19 | 9 | 2 | 8 | -7 | 29 |
| 9 | NEC | 19 | 7 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 26 |
| 10 | sc Heerenveen | 19 | 7 | 4 | 8 | -7 | 25 |
| 11 | Fc Groningen | 20 | 5 | 7 | 8 | -6 | 22 |
| 12 | Go Ahead Eagles | 19 | 6 | 3 | 10 | -12 | 21 |
| 13 | Heracles Almelo | 19 | 5 | 4 | 10 | -5 | 19 |
| 14 | RKC Waalwijk | 19 | 4 | 7 | 8 | -9 | 19 |
| 15 | William II | 19 | 5 | 3 | 11 | -20 | 18 |
| 16 | Sparta Rotterdam | 19 | 2 | 8 | 9 | -12 | 14 |
| 17 | Fortuna Sittard | 19 | 3 | 4 | 12 | -28 | 13 |
| 18 | PEC Zwolle | 19 | 2 | 3 | 14 | -21 | 9 |