Ajax has convincingly won its second meeting with PSV this season. Where the Eindhoven team still won the match for the Johan Cruijff Scale 0-4 in Amsterdam at the beginning of August, the team of trainer Erik ten Hag now booked a 5-0 through goals from Steven Berghuis, Sébastien Haller, Antony, Davy Klaassen and Dusan Tadic. victory: equaling the biggest home win ever against PSV. Due to the solid victory, leader Ajax increases its lead in the Eredivisie over closest pursuer PSV to four points.
Where Ajax could start with an unchanged basic setup compared to the 4-0 Champions League match with Borussia Dortmund, PSV coach Roger Schmidt had to puzzle due to the absence of Cody Gakpo and Noni Madueke. Schmidt held on to Carlos Vinícíus and posted Eran Zahavi next to him, while Bruma took over the vacant spot on the wing. PSV got off to a good start in Amsterdam and got the first chances via Vinícíus, Zahavi and Ibrahim Sangaré, but goalkeeper Remko Pasveer prevented Ajax from falling behind early.
Berghuis opens the score for Ajax. The topper is out! ??#AJAPSV pic.twitter.com/bdLpZRIDRt
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) October 24, 2021
Instead, Ajax took the lead early in the game. After Philipp Max had thwarted another chance for Berghuis, the attacking midfielder of the team from Amsterdam scored with nineteen minutes on the clock. Tadic found Berghuis within the sixteen, who was released at the height of the penalty spot and left goalkeeper Joël Drommel without a chance with a hard bang. In the remainder of the first half, Ajax had good opportunities to double the margin, via Antony (with a shot that went just wide) and Berghuis (whose header was turned by Haller).
At the same time, Pasveer on the other hand ensured that Ajax ended the first half with a minimal lead, by, among other things, stopping a free kick by Olivier Boscagli. Early in the second half, the margin was doubled after Daley Blind took the first opportunity after the break with a cracked shot. With 56 minutes on the clock, Tadic hurled a short corner kick in front of the goal, which Haller headed against the ropes between two PSV players. Schmidt intervened immediately after the 2-0 by bringing in Yorbe Vertessen for Bruma, but saw that the game was finally closed after more than an hour of play.
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After a defensive fumbling, Haller was launched, who held off André Ramalho and Boscagli and kept the overview. As a result, Antony could easily hit the target – albeit through Drommel’s legs: 3-0. The poison cup was not yet empty for PSV, because Davy Klaassen, who came in for Berghuis, also put himself on the scoreboard fifteen minutes before the end. The midfielder got the ball at his feet after Boscagli tried to put Haller off the ball and shot the 4-0 against the ropes in the far corner.
With the necessary changes on both sides, Ajax generally had the ball in the final phase of the game, without creating any great finished chances. Yet there was a fifth goal in injury time: substitute Perr Schuurs put Tadic face to face with Drommel. The Ajax captain passed the PSV goalkeeper and scored his hundredth Eredivisie goal. An away match against Heracles Almelo is now waiting for Ajax next Saturday, after which a visit to Borussia Dortmund is on the program in midweek. PSV is preparing for a home match against FC Twente and a European trip to AS Monaco.