Ajax went ahead when midfielder Wesley Sneijder set up Gabri in the seventh minute. A defensive mix-up by Utrecht allowed Heitinga to make it 2-0 just before halftime.

Utrecht _ led by Foeke Booy, the Eredivisie's longest-serving coach _ dominated the action for most of the game but failed to produce an early goal.

Gregoor van Dijk then scored an 80th-minute penalty for Utrecht before he was ejected for fouling Sneijder. Four minutes later, Marc-Antoine Fortune levelled at 2-2 with a solo effort.

But substitute Perez sealed the win for Ajax in the 87th with a close-range finish.

Ajax moved to the top of the league after AZ Alkmaar drew 2-2 against ADO The Hague. Ajax has 15 points, one ahead of AZ and FC Groningen.

Defending champion PSV Eindhoven, which played to a 0-0 draw against SC Heerenveen, is fourth with 13 points.

Midfielder Richard Knopper scored for ADO in the fifth minute, and Danny Koevermans equalized for AZ five minutes later. Michael Mols put ADO ahead again in the 34th before Kew Jaliens levelled with a header in the 69th.

At Rotterdam, goals from Danny Buijs, Nicky Hofs and Pierre van Hooijdonk led Feyenoord to a 3-2 victory over NAC Breda. Maceo Rigters and Mike Zonneveld scored first-half goals for NAC, which has never beaten Feyenoord in the league.

Luis Suarez scored in the 89th and 90th minutes to lead Groningen to a dramatic 4-3 win over Vitesse Arnhem after trailing 2-0.

Yevgeni Levchenko and Koen van der Laak were also on target for Groningen while Youssouf Hersi scored two goals for Vitesse. Anduele Prijor got Vitesse's other goal.

On Saturday, it was: Excelsior Rotterdam 3, Sparta Rotterdam 1; Willem II 0, Roda JC 1; and FC Twente 4, RKC Waalwijk 3.