With league leaders PSV dropping points yet again, Ajax knew they could close the gap to the Eindhoven team to just two points with a game in hand. On the other hand, Feyenoord were looking to bounce back from a devastating 6-1 Champions League defeat away at Ligue 1 side Lille.
It only took 20 seconds for the home side to fire a dangerous shot at second-string goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther when former Feyenoord captain Steven Berghuis forced the German stopper to make a crucial save with a surprising effort from the edge of the box.
A close and tactical battle resulted in not many chances getting created in the opening 30 minutes. Feyenoord were aiming at breaking through Ajax's rigid defensive line via long balls whereas Ajax tried to launch the outside players via link-up play between Brian Brobbey and Jordan Henderson, who wore the captain's armband again after giving it up just before the kick-off of last Thursday's Europa League game against Galatasaray.
As Feyenoord changed tactics and started playing a more free-flowing style of football, Brian Priske's men sliced through Ajax's midfield more and more. The biggest chance came from the left foot of Algerian winger Anis Hadj Moussa when his shot had to be parried away by Remko Pasveer.
With feyenoord picking up the pace, Ajax finally found a gap in their opponents' defense as left-back Jorrel Hato beat Hadj Moussa deep on Feyenoord's half and found Steven Berghuis in the box. Berghuis crossed the ball in front of goal and eventually found Brian Brobbey who slotted the ball home after Wellenreuther failed to parry the ball away.
Just minutes after Brobbey's opener, Jordan Henderson pounced on a loose ball which David Hancko failed to defend properly and found Bertrand Traore in the box, but the Burkinese winger's thunderous header found the crossbar with the last chance of the first half.
Just minutes after Wout Weghorst replaced Brian Brobbey during half-time, the former Burnley man sprinted past Hancko and Gernot Trauner but couldn't put the ball behind Wellenreuther.
This would end up being Ajax's last chance for the better part of 30 minutes as the home side took a step back and let Feyenoord play their game whilst keeping a narrow defensive structure.
But the unwillingness to play football would haunt Ajax as Feyenoord captain Quinten Timber cleverly beat Josip Sutalo in the box and calmly put the ball in the far corner of Pasveer's goal, thus celebrating his return from an injury with a derby goal.
The goal prompted Ajax to start playing football again in the final twenty minutes, resulting in a quick penalty after David Hancko took down Wout Weghorst with what seemed to be a foul outside the penalty box. Peculiarly enough, it was Hancko's defensive partner Gernot Trauner who received the yellow card and not the Slovakian centre-half.
Weghorst himself stepped up and saw his spot-kick get saved by Wellenreuther after the German chose the correct left-hand corner. An ensuing counter would see Feyenoord come desperately close to their first lead of the day, but Hadj Moussa couldn't beat Pasveer in a 1-on-1.
After a Christian Rasmussen header found the post with just ten minutes of regular playing time remaining, it seemed clear that Ajax would put the pressure on Feyenoord in the closing stages of the game.
With eight minutes of injury time added after lengthy VAR reviews and injury treatments, Ajax created yet another chance as Weghorst and Rasmussen rushed to the Feyenoord goal but the former was not able to set his Danish colleague up for success.
Another Dane would be crucial just minutes later as right-back Anton Gaaei delivered a perfect cross for Kenneth Taylor - who had moved to the left wing after Berghuis got taken off - who would slot the ball home through Wellenreuther's legs and send the home crowd into a frenzy with a 94th minute derby goal.
With a massive result in the Klassieker derby, Ajax close the gap to PSV to just two points and could take over the lead with a win over Go Ahead Eagles in their deferred match from last week.
Feyenoord, however, almost officially lose sight of the top 2 spots which would guarantee direct Champions League qualification for the Rotterdam side. With 36 points after 20 games, Feyenoord now have 12 less than Ajax and will have to fight to keep their fourth spot.
