Ajax suffered their first league defeat of the season as a pair of Ricky van Wolfswinkel penalties earned Utrecht their first away success of the season.

The visitors, fresh from holding Liverpool to a goalless draw in their midweek UEFA Europa League tie, were two goals up inside the opening 15 minutes as Van Wolfswinkel twice converted from the spot. Ajax striker Luis Suarez hit a post in the second half but the hosts could not engineer a comeback with an injury-time strike from Siem De Jong arriving too late to save their unbeaten record.

Defeat leaves Ajax top of the table, although they will relinquish that place if PSV Eindhoven win at home to VVV-Venlo in today's late game.

Utrecht won their first penalty in the fifth minute when Suarez handled Dries Mertens' corner and was shown a yellow card. Van Wolfswinkel placed the penalty into the bottom-left corner with Maarten Stekelenburg diving the wrong way.

The Utrecht striker then gave his side a 2-0 advantage from the spot nine minutes later after Eyong Enoh pushed Edouard Duplan over as he attempted to reach Merten's cross. Van Wolfswinkel again went for placement, but this time shooting into the left corner to beat Stekelenburg.

Suarez came close to pulling a goal back for his side six minutes after the re-start, when he arrowed in another free-kick that bounced back off a post. Mounir El Hamdaoui then shot over from ten yards before Jacob Mulenga should have made the game safe for Utrecht when he headed over unmarked after another pinpoint cross from Mertens.

Ajax gave little sign that they would make the visitors pay with Demy De Zeeuw dragging a shot wide after Rasmus Lindgren played him through. An Ajax goal did eventually arrive in the second minute of injury time, when teenage winger Christian Eriksen fed De Jong to score from outside the area, but it came too late for the home side.