PSV Eindhoven moved back to the top of the Eredivisie after a convincing 4-1 win against De Graafschap.
The home side had all but secured the points by half-time with Dries Mertens, Ola Toivonen, Tim Matavz and Jeremain Lens all scoring against the league's bottom team.
They eased off after half-time - Gil Vermouth grabbing a consolation - and appeared content to sit on what they had to go back above AZ Alkmaar on goal difference.
Heerenveen moved up to third with a 1-0 win at 10-man RKC Waalwijk.
The home team were up against it from the half-hour mark after Evander Sno was shown a straight red card.
And Rajiv van La Parra made them pay with the only goal of the game five minutes before half-time at the end of a flowing move.
Heerenveen are above Feyenoord on goals scored with the Rotterdammers beating Vitesse Arnhem 3-1.
John Guidetti, on a season-long loan from Manchester City, grabbed a hat-trick for Feyenoord, his third treble in five games.
Nicky Hofs grabbed Vitesse's goal from the penalty spot after 41 minutes.
Lex Immers levelled two minutes before the break to ensure the spoils were shared between FC Utrecht and ADO Den Haag at Stadion Galgenwaard.
Frank Demouge had put the hosts ahead on the half-hour mark but Immers capitalised on a scramble in the Utrecht box to draw his side level.
Maarten Martens struck twice in three second-half minutes as AZ Alkmaar beat Excelsior 2-0 on Saturday.
After dominating the first half Martens gave his side a deserved lead 13 minute after the break.
The Belgium international then added a second soon after to confirm a win that moved AZ top overnight.
Second-half goals from Dmitry Bulykin and Nicolas Lodeiro earned Ajax a deserved 2-0 victory at NAC Breda.
The Amsterdam giants remain eight points behind leaders PSV and AZ but kept themselves in touch as they finally got the reward their dominance deserved.
Bulykin ran through to open the scoring midway through the second period and Lodeiro's late solo goal put the seal on victory.
Yanic Wildschut and Uche Nwofor fired VVV-Venlo to a 2-0 win over FC Groningen which ignites their hopes of avoiding the drop from the Eredivisie.
VVV climb off the foot of the table and up to 16th place with their win, still five points clear of guaranteed safety and now in the relegation play-off zone.
They had victory effectively tied up by the half-hour mark against Groningen.
Wildschut opened the scoring after 15 minutes when he received the ball after a half clearance by the Groningen defence.
From 18 yards he picked his spot with a right-footed finish, firing past goalkeeper Luciano da Silva.
Wildschut, having scored the opening goal, made the second.
He ran at the Groningen defence and released the ball at the right moment to pick out Nwofor who provided the finish from 12 yards.
Sanharib Malki's second-half goal settled an uninspiring Eredivisie encounter between Roda JC and NEC Nijmegen.
After a pedestrian first half, Malki headed home 11 minutes into the second period and, although NEC searched for a leveller, it proved to be enough.
FC Twente had missed the chance to go top of the Eredivisie as they slipped to a 3-2 defeat against Heracles Almelo after a crazy last 20 minutes which yielded four goals on Friday night.
The visitors led at half-time through Everton's 33rd-minute goal against the run of play, but Twente levelled in the 73rd minute through Luuk de Jong.
Darl Douglas then put Heracles ahead again in the 81st minute and Everton scored again two minutes later, meaning De Jong's second in stoppage time was not enough for the hosts.
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