THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — Feyenoord beat cross-town rival Sparta Rotterdam 2-0 on Wednesday tto move atop the Dutch league standings.
Feyenoord overtook defending champion PSV Eindhoven, which lost 2-1 at FC Groningen for its third defeat of the season.
Roy Makaay scored both goals at De Kuip, intercepting Nourdin Boukhari’s poor backward pass in the fourth minute and then netting from close range off Andewele Slory’s cross in the 75th.
At Groningen, Marcus Berg scored the winner in the 77th, after Rasmus Lindgren had tied it for the home team in the 61st. PSV had taken the lead in the 20th, when Alcides scored on a pass from Danko Lazovic.
Feyenoord has 35 points, two more than PSV. Third-place Ajax, which hosts fifth-place FC Twente on Thursday, has 31.
Also on Wednesday, NEC Nijmegen tied 2-2 against VVV Venlo, extending its winless run to six games. Sandro Calabro and Leon Kantelberg scored for VVV Venlo. Tim Janssen had both goals for the NEC squad.
AZ Alkmaar’s match at De Graafschap was postponed because of an unplayable field.
On Thursday, it’s: FC Utrecht versus Excelsior Rotterdam; NAC Breda versus Vitesse Arnhem; Heracles Almelo versus Willem II and Roda JC versus SC Heerenveen.