The battle between Ajax and FC Twente was crucial in the race for the second spot, with Ajax five points behind Feyenoord and Twente six. Interim Ajax manager Óscar García gave Wout Weghorst, who was looking for his first goal since October 2025, another start as the hosts' striker, while Oliver Edvardsen surprisingly started on the right wing.
FC Twente had the better of Ajax in the opening phase and quickly rewarded itself when Mats Rots was free to dribble from his own box to that of Ajax and slice through the defense. The left-back found Ramiz Zerrouki, who fired the ball into Maarten Paes' goal past the near post.
Ajax looked anything but confident in the opening half hour, creating just one chance for Weghorst, who was unable to get it past Lars Unnerstall from close range.
Weghorst got his revenge not much later - Youri Baas set up Ajax's first nicely flowing attack of the night that reached the striker via Steven Berghuis and Mika Godts, who set Weghorst up for a neat finish at the near post in the 32nd minute.
FC Twente nearly stormed back into the lead following halftime when Josip Šutalo clumsily lost the ball on the edge of Ajax's box, giving three FC Twente attackers the chance to punish the Croatian. Both of the visitors' attempts were blocked, however, with Lucas Rosa keeping Sam Lammers from scoring and Youri Baas clearing Sam Lammers' shot off the line.
As throughout much of the match, Ajax struggled to put FC Twente under pressure and could not bring the energy up to take Unnerstall's goal under fire. The Enschede side took the opportunity to regain control, creeping closer to a lead via Sondre Orjasaeter and Lammers.
After one Twente full-back stole the show during the opener, the other did so to give Twente their second lead of the evening - Bart van Rooij escaped from the Ajax defence and had acres of space in front of him. A smart cut back gave Van Rooij the space to hit it with his left, after which the ball sailed past Paes into the far corner with ten minutes to go.
The hosts' evening was perfectly embodied by the injury-time efforts, with an abysmal Ajax side struggling to even get the ball onto FC Twente's half.
FC Twente comfortably walked away with a win in Amsterdam and leapfrogged Ajax in the table, taking the fourth spot with 50 points. Ajax, now on 48 points, will be at least 5 points behind second-placed Feyenoord after the current weekend and have a mammoth challenge on their hands to secure a spot in next year's UEFA Champions League.