Groningen’s equaliser deep into stoppage time has sent PSV top of the Dutch league
Ajax gifted top spot in the Eredivisie to PSV on the penultimate matchday of the Eredivisie season by conceding an equaliser in the ninth minute of stoppage time against 10-man Groningen.
Amsterdam giants Ajax, captained by England midfielder Jordan Henderson, were nine points clear at the top in mid-April with five games to go.
They needed just six points from their final five games to clinch a 37th Dutch title
But two heavy defeats and two draws since have allowed PSV, who beat Heracles 4-1 on Wednesday, to go one point ahead going into Sunday’s final round of matches.
Ajax took the lead through Anton Gaaei against mid-table Groningen, with Thom van Bergen levelling.
Wout Weghorst put Ajax back into the lead, and Groningen’s Luciano Valente was sent off for a foul on Henderson in stoppage time, but there was still time for Thijmen Blokzijl’s dramatic equaliser.
“It’s never easy to speak after conceding a last-minute equaliser,” said Ajax boss Francesco Farioli.
“It’s not over yet. We’ve got one more match to play: let’s go.
“A goal in the final minutes has brought us joy earlier this season, but today it brings tears.
“We gave it our all, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough. Still, football teaches us that anything can happen.”
PSV visit Sparta Rotterdam on Sunday and Ajax play at home to Twente, with both games kicking off at 13:30 BST.
Nine points adrift, then nine points clear, now off top again
Last season was Ajax’s worst since the turn of the millennium. They finished fifth with their weakest points-per-game record since 1965 – based on the three points for a win system – as they averaged just 1.65.
They then turned to 36-year-old Italian Farioli, who was Nice’s manager, to make him the first foreign Ajax boss since 1998.
Things were not looking good earlier in the season when Ajax sat third, nine points behind PSV, in early December.
But a run of 13 wins and a draw in 14 games took them nine points clear at the top.
It appeared as if it was a matter of when they would seal the title, but a 4-0 loss at Utrecht on 20 April seemed to derail them.
A draw with Sparta Rotterdam, a 3-0 home loss to NEC and now this Groningen draw has seen them lose top spot.
Other big title leads blown
In the 2023 Brazilian league, Botafogo were 13 points clear at the top after 19 games – but they only won three games in the second half of the season and finished fifth, with Palmeiras winning the title.
Just two years ago, Arsenal were eight points clear at the beginning of April and lost the Premier League title to Manchester City – but that was with nine games to go, and City had a match in hand.
The biggest Premier League title lead lost was in 1995-96 when Newcastle were 12 points clear in January but Manchester United won the title.
Inter Milan were six points clear at the top of Serie A in 2001-02 but ended up finishing third as Juventus won the title.
In 2003-04, Real Madrid were 12 points ahead of second-placed Deportivo La Coruna just 12 games into the La Liga season. Valencia ended up winning the title and Madrid finished fourth.
It could be worse for Ajax. Icelandic top-flight side Throttur made headlines in 2003 when they were top of the table halfway through the season (nine games in) but ended up being relegated.
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