Leader PSV is facing a second league defeat in Heerenveen

PSV suffered its second league defeat on a visit to SC Heerenveen. The leader, who had already lost to Ajax a few weeks ago, lost 1-0 in Friesland.

“A top club does not lose twice in a row,” PSV coach Peter Bosz responded afterwards, citing last Tuesday’s Champions League defeat at Brest (1-0). “So we are not a top club. Today was completely wrong. It was just bad.”

Heerenveen, the team of coach Robin van Persie that took points away from home for the first time at Willem II last week, remained undefeated at home this season due to this deserved result. Just like PSV, Ajax and FC Twente so far.

With former Heerenveen player Joey Veerman back in the starting line-up after two and a half months – the midfielder, who had been struggling with a groin injury for a long time, had already made three substitute appearances – PSV wanted to get rid of the chagrin of the recent loss in France. to shake off.

A repeat of the 0-8 in April of this year, the biggest away win ever for the Eindhoven team in the Premier League, would certainly have helped. At the time, the scoreboard was already 0-3 after eleven minutes, but that was not possible for Bosz’s team, who had wingers Noa Lang and Johan Bakayoko on the bench.

In fact, this time the first effective action came from a Heerenveen foot. However, finisher Dimitris Rallis had received the ball in an offside position. The next Frisian chance was also created by Brabant losing the ball in its own half, but Limburger Levi Smans shot wide.

In between, Ismael Saibari had delivered a slider wide. The national champion proved unable to do much more in the first half. Every reason for Bosz to call on Lang and keep Saibari, the king of assists in the Premier League with seven assists, on side at halftime.

That intervention could not prevent Heerenveen from having the first chances again in the second half, but goalkeeper Walter Benítez had a good eye on the shots of Rallis and Smans.

PSV slowly but surely gained more control over the match. Malik Tillman poked the ball narrowly wide and a bet from Ryan Flamingo was saved by goalkeeper Mickey van der Hart. Halfway through the second act, he also had a great reaction to a close-range header from Flamingo.

Moments earlier, PSV striker Ricardo Pepi, who has already scored ten league goals this season, and midfielder Jerdy Schouten, who played his last match on October 19, had arrived.

The substitution that Van Persie made had more effect. Ion Nicolaescu came to relieve Rallis in the seventieth minute and a few minutes later stole the ball from Olivier Boscagli, who had gotten into trouble by Flamingo.

Face to face with Benítez, the Moldovan kept his cool: 1-0.

PSV, which had made such an impression in the previous competition matches against FC Utrecht (2-5) and FC Twente (6-1), naturally continued to push, but was no longer close to the equalizer in the final phase. to come, let alone appear on the scoreboard.

It was the first time since January 2023 (1-0 defeat at FC Emmen, which, like Heerenveen, also had Van der Hart on target tonight) that the Eindhoven team did not score in the Premier League. This had been achieved at least once in the past 65 matches.