Saturday 4 November 2017 22:15, UK
Wout Weghorst scored and was later sent off as AZ Alkmaar held on for a 3-2 comeback victory against struggling Willem II which saw them move up to third in the Eredivisie table ahead of Sunday's matches.
Ben Rienstra headed the visitors in front before Alireza Jahanbakhsh's penalty levelled matters at the break.
Guus Til put AZ ahead 10 minutes into the second half and striker Weghorst slotted home the hosts' third, but Ismail Azzaoui reduced the deficit with five minutes remaining - moments before Weghorst was dismissed for a second yellow card to leave AZ short.
However, they held on for their third-straight win and saw their opponents drop to second-bottom.
Excelsior extended their unbeaten run to four matches and moved up a spot to seventh as Luigi Bruins' 42nd-minute goal proved enough for maximum points against 10-man Roda JC, who lost Mikhail Rosheuvel after 36 minutes to a straight red card and remain stranded at the bottom.
Heracles claimed a 2-1 victory over Groningen thanks to a goal in each half from to Reuven Niemeijer and Jeff Hardeveld either side of Lars Veldwijk's penalty on the stroke of half-time.
In Saturday night's later kick-off, VVV Venlo were held to a goalless draw at home to NAC Breda, who moved up a spot to 16th.
