NEC Nijmegen ran out comfortable 4-1 winners at VVV-Venlo in the Eredivisie's second round on Saturday. The visitors took all three points at the VVV-Venlo Stadion, extending their winning start to the campaign while leaving their hosts still searching for their first victory.
And here's the thing — the opening exchanges suggested something more balanced than the final scoreline. Nathan Tjoe-A-On picked up a yellow card for VVV-Venlo in the 16th minute, but the visitors didn't strike until the half was nearly over. Adam Tahaui netted twice in quick succession, finding the net in the 45th and 45+2 minutes to give NEC a commanding half-time lead.
To be fair, the second half only confirmed what the first period had shown. Tahaui's work set up Thijmen Chery for the third goal in the 54th minute before Brian Linssen doubled his personal tally within two minutes, scoring in the 64th and 65th. K. Sierhuis pulled one back for the hosts in the 67th, and Thijmen Verheydt sealed it with a late strike in the 77th.
The numbers told the same story. NEC dominated possession at 68 per cent and created seven big chances compared to VVV-Venlo's two. The visitors registered 10 shots on target with 48 per cent accuracy, while their hosts managed just 2 on target from 22 per cent accuracy. NEC's expected goals of 2.99 suggested they should have scored more, while VVV-Venlo's 1.43 xG aligned with their solitary goal.
There were plenty of changes on both sides as the match progressed. NEC brought on D. Nejasmic, C. Bischoff, and B. Linssen in rapid succession around the 65th minute. VVV-Venlo responded with multiple substitutions, bringing on N. Tjoe-A-On, A. Ciranni, and E. Gurbuz together in the 69th, followed by D. Fonville in the 75th. K. Boogaard and A. Tahaui were both replaced in the 89th.
By then, the result had settled matters of positioning in the table. NEC moved up to 10th place with 6 points from 4 matches, sitting on 2 wins and 2 defeats. VVV-Venlo remained rooted at 17th with just 1 point — 4 games played, no wins, 1 draw, 3 losses.