Ajax caretaker manager Fred Grim opted for a midfield trio of Youri Regeer, Davy Klaassen and young Sean Steur, moving Ko Itakura back to the centre-half position and keeping Oscar Gloukh on the right wing after his side's 4-2 midweek win over Qarabag. 18-year-old Aaron Bouwman kept his starting spot in the heart of the defence with Josip Sutalo out.
Robin van Persie changed his Feyenoord team in three places after Thursday's dramatic 4-3 Europa League defeat to FCSB, giving Tsuyoshi Watanabe, Bart Nieuwkoop and Eredivisie top scorer Ayase Ueda their starting spots back.
In a partially closed Johan Cruyff ArenA - Ajax closed four blocks after the F-Side fan group caused the Eredivisie game against Heerenveen to be abandoned due to fireworks - the second-placed visitors opened fire first when Luciano Valente pinged a perfectly weighed cross into the box for Bart Nieuwkoop, who couldn't convert with his headed effort.
Instead, Ajax took the lead in the 13th minute via Davy Klaassen, who confidently fired in from distance and gave the hosts the derby lead with the 31st opening goal of his Eredivisie career.
Ajax's opener gave the Amsterdam giants the confidence needed to dominate most of the first half, mostly via Kasper Dolberg and Sean Steur, the latter of whom nearly scored his first senior goal but saw his shot get cleared just short of the goal line.
After Van Persie was forced to use his first substitute early, following an injury to Bart Nieuwkoop, Ajax continued their charge via Dolberg, Mika Godts and right-back Lucas Rosa, all of whom could not beat Timon Wellenreuther in the closing minutes of the first half. Feyenoord's Anel Ahmedhodzic came close once more before the break with a wayward headed effort.
Following the break, Ueda nearly got Feyenoord back in the game with his side's biggest chance of the game, which the Japanese international put just wide of the post. Left-back Gijs Smal added to Feyenoord's danger shortly after with a powerful strike from a corner that ended in the side netting.
A fantastically flowing attack from Ajax earned Oscar Gloukh a big chance midway through the second half, but Ahmedhodzic, equally fantastically, intervened with a last-ditch defensive effort. Substitute Kian Fitz-Jim escaped from Feyenoord's defence ten minutes later, but, as with Gloukh, to no avail, as he placed his shot wide of the post.
After a short period of intense pressure from Feyenoord, from which no big chances came forth, Mika Godts curled his shot just wide as Ajax looked to extend their lead in the game's closing stages. After Fitz-Jim sent another shot wide, Feyenoord tried their luck via Ueda, who headed the ball over the goal from a corner as time ran out for the Rotterdam giants.
Feyenoord dialled up the pressure as Van Persie's men tried to salvage a derby point in Amsterdam for only the second time in 2015, but it was 17-year-old Jorthy Mokio who ended all doubt with a great strike in the 94th minute.
Ajax bagged their third consecutive derby win and fourth-straight victory in all competitions as Feyenoord, who have now lost seven of their last 10 games across all competitions, were bested 2-0 in the Johan Cruyff ArenA. PSV have now taken a 9-point lead at the top of the table, while Ajax closed the gap to Feyenoord to five points.
Check out all the player and match statistics from Ajax-Feyenoord on Flashscore
