Tales of the Eredivisie: How a crazy season ended in PSV's 26th championship

After 306 games, the Eredivisie concluded with a spectacular ending on Sunday afternoon.

A tight title race, two rollercoaster seasons, and an exciting fight for European football: this year's Eredivisie season had everything.

Flashscore takes a detailed look at the 2024/25 Eredivisie season to relive a sometimes breathtaking nine months of football.

August 2024

With two clubs of the Big Three having appointed new managers, the reigning champions ran away with the league in the first weeks of the new season.

PSV looked as imperious as ever with 5-1, 3-1, and 7-1 wins over RKC Waalwijk, Heracles Almelo, and Almere City FC. Hirving Lozano scored three and assisted two, Malik Tillman scored and assisted two, and Joey Veerman rebounded from a tough EURO 2024 with four assists in the opening three games.

Meanwhile, Ajax started life under Italian manager Francesco Farioli with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Robin van Persie's sc Heerenveen, but hit a bump in the road when NAC Breda beat the Amsterdam side in the 92nd minute. Ajax are still recovering from two disastrous seasons, and hopes of a 37th title are far away.

After losing Arne Slot to Liverpool, Feyenoord began building under Brian Priske and won the first prize of the season after beating PSV after penalties for the Johan Cruyff Shield. The Dane experienced a shaky start in the Eredivisie, however: Feyenoord opened the season with a 1-1 home draw against newly promoted Willem II, then confidently beat PEC Zwolle 5-1, but lost points again by drawing 1-1 with Sparta. Question marks surrounded the rivals from Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

Elsewhere, FC Groningen made the most of their return to the Eredivisie by winning their first two games since spectacularly clinching promotion in May. NAC Breda were beaten 4-1 and RKC Waalwijk 2-1, making FC Groningen one of four teams to win their first two games.

September 2024

There's no stopping PSV. The reigning champions won all four league games in September, admittedly with fewer goals than in August, but convincingly nonetheless. Captain Luuk de Jong also improved again: after three goal contributions in August, the former Barcelona striker accounted for two goals and two assists in the 3-0, 2-0, 3-1, and 2-0 wins over Go Ahead Eagles, NEC, Fortuna Sittard, and Willem II.

One issue arose, however: Joey Veerman sustained a groin injury against Willem II, and PSV lost their creative midfield motor.

Joey Veerman sustained a groin injury against Willem II and missed an extended period of timeHollandse Hoogte / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia

Up in Amsterdam, Ajax got another week off after the Klassieker against Feyenoord, which was planned for September 1st, was cancelled due to police strikes.

The week after, Ajax booked their first big win of the season when they outclassed Fortuna Sittard 5-0. An almighty struggle in Deventer followed, and for the second time in the new season, Ajax dropped points with a 1-1 draw against Go Ahead Eagles. A late breakthrough away at RKC Waalwijk saved the day for Ajax, who won 2-0.

The Amsterdam side ran into personnel issues in September when the transfer of the much-desired extra winger, Southampton's Kamaldeen Sulemana, was cancelled after Ajax submitted the documents to FIFA mere seconds too late.

Meanwhile, Feyenoord continued to struggle under Brian Priske. FC Groningen kept their unbeaten streak alive by snatching a 2-2 draw from the hands of defeat in the 92nd minute, thanks to Brynjolfur Willumsson. A week later, NAC Breda were beaten 2-0, but Feyenoord had to save themselves from losing away at NEC with an 88th-minute equaliser from right-back Jordan Lotomba. 

But after PSV, Feyenoord also ran into some tough injury luck when top scorer Santiago Gimenez sustained a thigh injury against NAC Breda and was forced to sit out at least two months.

At the end of September, PSV still reigned supreme with a 100% score from seven games. A surprising new challenger had appeared in the meantime: FC Utrecht were the only other unbeaten team after seven games with 17 points. At the bottom of the league, RKC Waalwijk were yet to win a single point after seven games.

October 2024

No sign of wear and tear in Eindhoven: PSV kept winning and winning and winning. Three new wins meant they'd won their first 10 games of the season, just like in 2023. It started with two narrow 2-1 wins over Sparta Rotterdam and AZ, after which PEC Zwolle were downed 6-0. November hadn't even started yet, and PSV were on 30 points.

Ajax continued on a rocky road towards recovery and started October with a tough 3-1 win over FC Groningen, who were beaten thanks to injury-time goals from Chuba Akpom and Wout Weghorst. Two weeks later, Ajax scraped another win by beating Heracles Almelo 4-3. Former Manchester United striker Wout Weghorst was one of the heroes yet again, scoring two goals after coming on for Brian Brobbey, who was still on zero goals.

Ajax overcame a world-class goal from Mario Engels, who scored from his own half, and beat Willem II 1-0 thanks to an early penalty from Davy Klaassen before the first big game of the season: the Klassieker against Feyenoord.

Away in Rotterdam, where Ajax lost 6-0 just six months earlier, Ajax beat Feyenoord 2-0 thanks to goals from Kenneth Taylor and Jorrel Hato. It was Feyenoord's only loss of October after wins against FC Twente (2-1), Go Ahead Eagles (5-1), and FC Utrecht (2-0).

Further down the table, seventh-placed NAC Breda were on a hot streak with three wins from as many games in October, and Almere City left RKC Waalwijk behind as the only team without a win in the new season following their 1-0 home win over NEC Nijmegen. 

November 2024

Just three days after Ajax's win over Feyenoord, the Amsterdam side booked another statement win by beating PSV 3-2 on November 2nd. Farioli and Ajax handed PSV their first loss after 10 straight wins to start the season, but leave it to the reigning champions to reply in fitting fashion: high-flying NAC Breda were stumped 3-0 and FC Groningen were beaten 5-0. American striker Ricardo Pepi was the big man in those wins: El Tren scored four goals and provided one assist.

After Ajax started the month November off with a second huge win, signs of struggle seeped back into the side as FC Twente held Ajax to a 2-2 draw in Enschede and PEC Zwolle made Ajax earn their 2-0 home win after a long, hard battle. Signs of improvement kept coming and going in the Johan Cruyff ArenA.

Brian Priske's Feyenoord recovered well from the Klassieker loss and welcomed star man Santiago Gimenez back in the game against Fortuna Sittard. Feyenoord looked good and scored ten goals across three wins in November, but stalled again when Fortuna Sittard visited Rotterdam and held Feyenoord to a 1-1 draw.

FC Utrecht, meanwhile, continued their remarkable form and won every game in November. Their excellent start to the season put them within touching distance of PSV and in the fight with Ajax in the top 3. Careful whisperings of a title charge did the rounds in Utrecht...

Celebrations were also finally heard from Waalwijk as RKC finally won their first game of the season, beating fellow strugglers Almere City 2-0. And after their strong start, FC Groningen endured a rollercoaster month after losing 6-0 to NEC, beating Sparta 1-0, losing 5-0 to PSV, and beating Willem II 2-0. Speaking of ups and downs.

December 2024

Just as PSV returned to form and emphatically beat FC Utrecht (5-2) and FC Twente (6-1), a new loss threw a spanner in the works as Robin van Persie's Heerenveen beat PSV 1-0. Manager Peter Bosz's verdict was simple: "It was bad. Everything was bad. Defensively, and on the ball."

However, it wasn't all doom and gloom for the league leaders, as PSV entered the Christmas break with a 3-0 win over Feyenoord.

A busy December month saw Ajax continue their unbeaten streak at first, pretty luckily beating NEC 2-1 after a sloppy game and drawing 2-2 with FC Utrecht after a world-class goal from Anton Gaaei, but to every streak comes an end. Away at AZ, Ajax lost their first league game since August as the home side booked a 2-1 victory. Ajax soon returned to winning ways, however, with victories over Almere City (3-0) and Sparta Rotterdam (2-0).

The return of Santiago Gimenez did Feyenoord well, and the Rotterdam side opened December with a narrow 3-2 win over RKC Waalwijk. The offensive prowess, but also the defensive struggles, continued the next week as Heracles Almelo were beaten 5-2, partially thanks to a hat-trick from their Mexican hero. The reigning KNVB Beker winners entered the Christmas break with plenty of questions after the 3-0 loss to PSV and seven conceded goals in December.

Third-placed FC Utrecht refused to back down from the title race and entered the break with 36 points after their best first half of the season in club history. Of the three promoted sides, Willem II finished as the highest-ranked with 22 points after an impressive opening half to the season.

At the bottom, Almere City and RKC Waalwijk kept exchanging the last spot, but the latter possessed it after the last games of 2024, after Almere City handed Robin van Persie a rather embarrassing 3-0 loss.

January 2025

What's happening to PSV? The team that once looked invincible opened January with a 2-2 draw against AZ and lost 3-1 to a relentless PEC Zwolle the following week. The league leaders closed out the month with a 3-2 win against NAC Breda, but were puzzled without the injured Malik Tillman and looked like they'd lost the plot.

PSV opened the year with a 2-2 draw against AZOrange Pictures, Orange Pics BV / Alamy / Profimedia

Meanwhile, Ajax were on a tear and beat RKC Waalwijk and Heerenveen during their only two games of January. Farioli's men were riding a four-game winning streak as they entered February and approached another big, big game.

The loss against PSV seemed to cause major problems for Feyenoord, who lost the home game against FC Utrecht and only got as far as a 1-1 draw away at Willem II. Brian Priske was fighting to save his job, and a new title seemed out of reach.

In the meantime, the battle for the European play-off spots was heating up. Just five points separated Fortuna Sittard in eighth and Heracles Almelo in 15th, a group which involved all three promoted sides.

February 2025

PSV started February shockingly by squandering the lead in the final minutes of the away game at NEC Nijmegen. The league leaders carried a 3-1 lead into the 90th minute, but saw Kento Shiogai and Bryan Linssen win a point for NEC in the 95th minute. It was the start of a horrible month for PSV, who drew the two remaining games as well and had now lost two of their last eight league games.

Ajax happily pounced on the opportunity to put PSV under immense pressure and opened their month with a dramatic second Klassieker victory of the season. Ajax and Feyenoord were drawing 1-1 in the 90th minute, when Kenneth Taylor scored a dramatic winner which put Ajax one point behind PSV with a game in hand.

The Amsterdam side followed their derby win with wins over Fortuna Sittard, Heracles Almelo, and Go Ahead Eagles and ended the month at the top of the league with a stunning five-point lead over PSV.

After Feyenoord's painful derby loss in Amsterdam, Feyenoord beat Sparta Rotterdam, but it wasn't enough for Brian Priske, as the Dane was fired on February 10th following disappointing results with the Rotterdam giants. His successor was a familiar name in Dutch football: Robin van Persie was appointed as Feyenoord manager and debuted for his old club with a 0-0 draw against NEC.

Robin van Persie took over as Feyenoord head coach in February 2025Hollandse Hoogte / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia

With caretaker manager Pascal Bosschaert managing two Eredivisie games in the meantime, Feyenoord went unbeaten in February after the derby loss of February 2nd and took the third spot, which was left up for grabs after FC Utrecht failed to win a single game between January 13th and February 28th.

March 2025

Ajax didn't convince in early March, but still beat both Almere City and PEC Zwolle by one goal as their winning streak was extended to ten league games. The Amsterdam side were hoping for Brian Brobbey to continue his fine form of three goals in four games on the club's anniversary in March, but a birthday game against AZ ended in a 2-2 draw and their winning streak came to an end.

The 2-2 draw was the final game before the biggest game of the season: PSV-Ajax. The two favourites for the title met each other in Eindhoven on March 30th, when six points separated the two sides. A win for PSV would blow the title race wide open, whereas an Ajax win would put Ajax nine points up with just seven games remaining. A fierce battle in Eindhoven ensued and ended in a 2-0 Ajax win.

PSV, who had refound rhythm following their horrible start to 2025 with wins over Heerenveen and RKC Waalwijk, were back to square one and effectly said goodbye to a second-straight title. "We have to focus on second place," said captain Luuk de Jong. "Nine points are too much. I think it has never happened before that a team gets overtaken with so few games."

Elsewhere, Feyenoord and Robin van Persie were off to a hot start as FC Twente and Go Ahead Eagles, two play-off contenders, were beaten 6-2 and 3-2 as the Premier League icon got off the mark. PSV were just five points off, but FC Utrecht were also one behind as Ron Jans' side crawled up and won three of their four games in March.

Meanwhile, Willem II had dropped all the way to 16th after losing six of their seven games in February and March. Their impressive first half of the season was made redundant and a fight against the relegation demons was on the cards again.

Willem II ended the season without a single win after DecemberFlashscore

The fight for the European play-offs, however, continued in full force with four points separating FC Groningen in eighth and Sparta Rotterdam in fifteenth.

April 2025

Ajax kept winning, but missed efficiency and failed to truly convince in their wins over NAC Breda (3-1) and Willem II (0-2). It seemed championship jitters snuck their way into the squad as Ajax ended the month with a crushing 4-0 defeat to FC Utrecht and a surprising 1-1 draw against Sparta Rotterdam, which January acquisition Youri Regeer saved deep into injury time.

Ajax's Davy Klaassen gets frustrated during the 3-0 loss against NECHollandse Hoogte / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia

Meanwhile, PSV were on the charge and won all three of their games in April. FC Groningen (3-1), Almere City (5-0), and FC Twente (3-1) all were outclassed and PSV were nearly back in the title race, but was the 7-point gap to Ajax too big with just four games remaining in the season?

Robin van Persie and Feyenoord were on a hot streak and became the most in-form team in the Netherlands after winning all four of their games in April. FC Utrecht were just three points away after winning three of their four games. The fight for the third spot was catching fire.

The play-off fight got just as hot: Heerenveen and Fortuna Sittard fought their way up to the play-off spots after Go Ahead Eagles won the KNVB Beker, which moved the play-off spots up one, meaning the ninth-placed team would now also qualify for the play-offs. Four points separated Heerenveen in eighth and NEC in 13th with four games remaining.

May 2025

Ajax have lost the plot. NEC march into Amsterdam and grab their first win in the Johan Cruyff ArenA in club history by beating the league leaders 3-0 and putting the fear back into the hearts of the Ajax fans, who saw their team's lead get reduced to one single point after PSV spectacularly beat Feyenoord 3-2 at the death.

Disaster hit Ajax once more when FC Groningen scored a 99th-minute equaliser in the second-to-last game of the season - a goal which put PSV up one point and gave them their first lead since early February.

A PSV fan holds up an FC Groningen jersey during the title celebrations in EindhovenČTK / imago sportfotodienst / Joris Verwijst

Behind PSV and Ajax, Feyenoord secured the third spot with a win over RKC Waalwijk, and FC Utrecht locked up the fourth spot after going winless in the final three games of the season.

On the final day of the season, the title and the two final play-off spots were yet to be decided. Ajax needed a win and either a draw or a loss for PSV away at Sparta Rotterdam, but it wasn't to be for the Amsterdam side as PSV won 3-1 and won back-to-back Eredivisie titles. A nine-point lead was given away with seven games to go for the first time in Eredivisie history.

NEC and sc Heerenveen, who picked up pace following Van Persie's move to Feyenoord, started the day in the last two play-off spots and held onto their tickets with wins over PEC Zwolle and Feyenoord. Almere City and RKC Waalwijk were relegated, and Willem II were forced to enter the relegation play-offs after failing to win a single game in the second half of the season.