After surviving a dramatic Super Sunday in the Dutch Eredivisie, it is yet again time to put every performance in perspective and give credit where it's due.
Ajax stole a draw at the death via Oscar Gloukh, AZ got a penalty in the 97th minute to allow Mexx Meerdink to score the 3-3 against Feyenoord, FC Groningen kept winning, and FC Twente rose from the dead with a 5-1 stomping of Sparta.
So, who made it all happen this past weekend? We find out via the Flashscore ratings system.
GK: Matthijs Branderhorst (Fortuna Sittard) - 7.5
Securing their third win in four games was great, but even nicer was the fact that Fortuna Sittard did it against UEFA Europa League outfit FC Utrecht and keeping a clean sheet whilst doing so made it even sweeter.
Goalkeeper Matthijs Branderhorst was vital in Fortuna's victory, notching five saves and preventing a total xG of 0.61.
Excelsior's Stijn van Gassel did a great job earning his team a win too, earning him a rating of 7.6 after a 5-save performance. However, with Branderhorst's clean sheet and double the prevented xG earned him a spot in our Team of the Week by executive decision.
DEF: Bart van Rooij (FC Twente) - 8.6
FC Twente badly needed a win after seeing their manager get fired and collecting just one win from their first five Eredivisie games, and a win they got.
Sparta were beaten 5-1 by the Enschede outfit, who had their performance engineered by two excellent full-backs. On the right wing, Bart van Rooij ran the show with one goal from three shots, a game-high 76 touches, two created chances - one of which a big chance - and eight won duels. Just what Twente needed.
DEF: Mauro Jr. (PSV) - 8.3
Mauro Jr. is a respected piece in PSV's defence, so it was unsurprising to see many happy faces as the Brazilian full-back entered the pitch against Ajax following a spell on the sidelines.
It didn't take the 26-year-old long to make an impact as he assisted Yarek Gasiorowski for the 2-1, which looked like the winner in the Topper derby against their Amsterdam rivals.
PSV still dropped points in the end, but got a big win with Mauro back in the squad - in just 21 minutes, the Brazilian completed 10 of 11 passes, created one big chance, won five of his six duels, and won all of his four tackles. Welcome back, Mauro.
DEF: Joris Kramer (Go Ahead Eagles) - 8.3
Joris Kramer is starting to become a familiar face in our Eredivisie Team of the Week after earning his second-straight nomination.
Go Ahead Eagles won their second game in a row as Joris Kramer grabbed a game-high rating again, this time in the 2-0 IJsselderby win over PEC Zwolle. Kramer shone with his 122 touches, stunning 93% (98/105) pass completion rate, eight clearances, four(!) created chances, and 53 passes into the final third. Simply stunning from the centre-half.
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DEF: Boy Kemper (NAC Breda) - 8.6
NAC Breda hadn't won in a month, making the game against feeble Heracles the ultimate chance to get back to winning ways. And as he should, captain Boy Kemper led by example.
Kemper scored the equaliser in the 57th minute following a scrimmage from a corner and assisted Sydney van Hooijdonk's winner in the 85th minute. Furthermore, Kemper recorded four touches in the opposition's box, 19 passes into the final third, two created chances, and won possession seven times, earning NAC Breda a well-deserved victory over Heracles.
DEF: Mats Rots (FC Twente) - 8.8 (Player of the Week)
As mentioned earlier, FC Twente's full-backs ran riot against Sparta, with left-back Mats Rots standing out as the absolute best.
The 19-year-old youth international did not register any goal involvements, but was priceless for his team. Rots completed all three of his dribbles, won all seven of his duels, had two interceptions, created one big chance, won possession five times, had five touches in the opposition's box, and completed 41 of 50 passes on 71 touches.
Rots delivered an all-round performance, earning his first Player of the Week nomination for the season.
MID: Ringo Meerveld (Heerenveen) - 8.2
Ringo Meerveld arrived at Heerenveen from relegated Willem II this summer, and really got going during Sunday's win over NEC.
Meerveld was the attacking catalyst for Heerenveen with three attempts at goal, eight touches in NEC's box, two created chances, and a goal to top it off.
MID: Kristian Hlynsson (FC Twente) - 8.2
Former Ajax midfielder Kristian Hlynsson spent the second half of the 2024/25 season on loan at Sparta and came back to haunt his former employers on Friday.
The Icelandic midfielder scored a goal and gave an assist as part of his big performance. Hlynsson took five shots at Sparta's goal, accumulating a total xG of 0.55 on 39 touches in 71 minutes in Rotterdam. The 21-year-old also completed his only attempted tackle and made one interception, earning him an 8.2 rating.
MID: Kenneth Taylor (Ajax) - 8.2
Kenneth Taylor was everywhere against PSV and played a massive role in the Amsterdam giants grabbing a point in the house of the reigning champions.
The midfielder scored a penalty created by Oliver Edvardsen and delivered a beautiful assist to Oscar Gloukh, who scored the equaliser in the 88th minute in Eindhoven. Furthermore, intercepted three passes, won eight duels and two tackles, completed eight of his 10 passes in the final third, and created two chances.
FW: Jacob Trenskow (Heerenveen) - 8.5
Danish forward Jacob Trenskow has been a star for Heerenveen and earned his side their first win of the season as NEC were beaten 3-2 in the Abe Lenstra Stadion.
Trenskow nutmegged Kodai Sano during an impressive solo before assisting Dylan Vente's 2-0 and scoring the 3-0 himself ten minutes later. The young Dane created five chances and completed both of his attempted dribbles in a stunning performance.
FW: Koki Ogawa (NEC) - 8.2
Koki Ogawa only got 30 minutes of action against Heerenveen, but was a big reason why NEC even got close to rescuing a point in the first place.
Ogawa replaced Vito van Crooij in the 58th minute and immediately impacted the game with a goal in the 65th minute and by assisting Sami Ouaissa's goal in the 82nd minute.
A win wasn't to be for NEC, but Ogawa proved his worth with two created chances from three passes, a team-high 0.36 xG, and tying Vito van Crooij with three touches in Heerenveen's box in just half the playing time.
