FC Twente were the third in a three-horse race for UEFA Champions League football, trailing NEC by a point and Ajax on goal difference.
FC Twente were unlucky not to go up ahead of half-time, with Daan Rots and Thomas van den Belt (from an overhead kick) both hitting the crossbar in a dominant first half.
With NEC losing and Ajax drawing an hour into Sunday's 9-game slate, Thomas van den Belt put FC Twente virtually into third place after tapping in Sam Lammers' low cross.
Van den Belt added to the home fans' joy by scoring a quick second, profiting from Sparta's defensive malpractice and firing the ball past Joël Drommel for a crucial two-goal cushion.
Kristian Hlynsson put the game to bed with 20 minutes to go, heading the ball in for the 3-0.
Daan Rots added salt to Sparta's wounds, firing the ball into the roof of Drommel's goal in the 78th minute.
With Ajax losing to FC Utrecht in the 96th minute and FC Groningen beating NEC Nijmegen, FC Twente leapfrogged Ajax and NEC and took the lead in the battle for third. Twente now take a 2-point lead over NEC and a 3-point lead over Ajax into the last weekend of the season and their away game at champions PSV.
Check out the full match statistics on Flashscore
