The atmosphere in De Kuip was tense from the start, with Robin van Persie's Feyenoord entering the weekend with just two wins from their last 11 games across all competitions and on the back of a year-opening 2-2 draw against Heerenveen.
Inside the first 15 minutes of the game, home fans unveiled a banner with words of criticism for the board and Van Persie: "With this vision, we'll soon play in the second division. Feyenoord, the biggest amateur club of the Netherlands."
With Casper Tengstedt starting instead of the unfit top scorer Ayase Ueda, Feyenoord got off to the better start with Tengstedt and the returning Anis Hadj Moussa opening fire in the first 10 minutes. The hosts couldn't hang on to their momentum, however, and saw Sparta pick up the pace in the final 20 minutes of the first half.
After placing a ball just wide a few minutes earlier, Norwegian midfielder Joshua Kitolano fired Sparta in front with a powerful shot from distance in the 40th minute.
The goal also gave Sparta manager Maurice Steijn the lead in another meeting with his son and last year's Eredivisie top scorer, Sem Steijn, who earned his second start after having the captaincy stripped from him by manager Robin van Persie. After scoring last week, however, Steijn played a disappointing opening half, in which he recorded just eight touches.
The second half started even worse for Feyenoord after centre-half Tsuyoshi Watanabe childishly lost the ball right in front of his own goal. Sparta winger Mitchell van Bergen picked it off and beat goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther in the quick one-on-one to double Sparta's lead.
Feyenoord responded swiftly, however. After Feyenoord hit the woodwork for the second time, South Korean midfielder Hwang-In Beom fabulously hit home with a strike from distance that reduced Sparta's lead to just one goal.
Just as the home crowd started backing Van Persie's men again, though, Sparta restored their two-goal lead via Shunsuke Mito, who was the final stop of a swift counter that put the Japanese forward in a prime position to score Sparta's third goal of the evening.
With Feyenoord down two goals, the Rotterdam giants had the bulk of the possession after Mito's goal, but failed to redeem their dominance with only Cyle Larin and Quinten Timber attempting shots in the 16 minutes following the 3-1.
Striker Shaqueel van Persie, Robin's son, produced two moments of magic in the closing stages, however. The 19-year-old got Feyenoord back in it with a backheel goal in the 86th minute, after which he made the stadium erupt with a sensational bicycle kick in the 88th, seemingly salvaging a point for his father's side with his first-ever Eredivisie goals.
Feyenoord went all-out in the final minutes and left plenty of space in defence, much to Sparta's advantage. Without producing a shot after Van Persie's second goal, Sparta broke through Feyenoord's defensive lines to score a stunning 94th-minute winner via Joshua Kitolano, who capped off another counter with a calm finish.
Sparta won the game 4-3 and grabbed their first win in De Kuip since 2000, while also handing Maurice Steijn his first-ever win over son Sem.
For the sixth consecutive game, Feyenoord and Robin van Persie failed to win as Ajax close the gap to the Rotterdam side to just two points. With pressure on Van Persie mounting, Feyenoord host Sturm Graz in the UEFA Europa League in their bid to stay in the competition.
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