PSV won 2-1 from Ajax in an away match. Goals by Luuk de Jong and Erick Gutiérrez ensured another victory against the Amsterdam team. After the cup final and the Johan Cruijff Shield, Ajax was now defeated in the national competition. With the win, the Eindhoven team regained the lead, but Ajax still have one match to go.
The anticipation was more fun than the execution, many neutral spectators must have thought when watching the match between Ajax and PSV. But the visitors from Eindhoven didn’t care. After fifty minutes, they were leading by 2-0 and had Ajax on a hold.
Luuk de Jong had not touched the ball more than once or twice when, after 23 minutes, he secured the first goal. The striker came in front of his opponent on a cross from Cody Gakpo and left goalkeeper Remko Pasveer without a chance.
It was also the first moment in the game where PSV passed the ball around for a longer time. The goal came out of the blue but from a nicely constructed attack.
Two shots, two goals
Ajax wanted to counter but couldn’t find a way. That was of course also the merit of the well organised PSV. The home team only came really close to a goal just before half-time. Mohammed Kudus hit the post.
The nature of the game did not change after the break. Admittedly, Ajax had more ball posession, but the visitors were more effective. Erick Gutiérrez gave PSV a comfortable 2-0 score. It was the Eindhoven team’s second shot on goal.
After an hour of play, there seemed to be an excellent opportunity for 3-0 after Xavi Simons was brought down. But the penalty given by Danny Makkelie was reversed after seeing the VAR footage.
Unique finale
At the moment that the home crowd gave up hope, their team scored. Lorenzo Lucca was released in front of Walter Benítez and finished calmly. It was the start of an even messier final phase in a match that already was full of disturbances. In addition, Ruud van Nistelrooij also exchanged many key players, causing PSV to lose control of the match. Yet the team remained intact and beat Ajax 2-1. It led to a massive fight afterwards.
PSV beat the team from Amsterdam for the third time in a row, something that had not happened before in this century. The victory raises PSV to the top position in the Eredivisie (Premier Division). They two points ahead of Ajax, but Ajax still have one match to go.
Source: Omroep Brabant
Translator: Martijn
