Luuk de Jong's early goal set PSV Eindhoven on their way to a 3-1 victory at Excelsior in the Dutch league that moved them to within one point of leaders Ajax Amsterdam.
De Jong's header was his 15th goal of the season and extended his lead in the scoring charts as the champions moved to 47 points, behind Ajax who were held to a 0-0 home draw by Heracles on Tuesday.
Jorrit Hendrix hammered home an errant clearance for the second soon after halftime and Luciano Narsingh made it 3-0. An own goal from Dutch international Jeffrey Bruma gave the home side a late consolation.
Christian Santos scored his 13th goal of the season for NEC Nijmegen as they beat troubled Twente Enschede 2-0 to go fourth in the standings.
Last season's second division champions moved on to 34 points, pushing Heracles Almelo down to fifth after they drew 0-0 at Ajax on Tuesday.
Two goals from Vincent Janssen and another from Joris van Overeem put AZ Alkmaar three goals ahead inside the opening 20 minutes against struggling SC Cambuur. They won 3-1 to move up to ninth.
