Sunday, January 16, 2022 at 4:27 PM• Rian Rosendaal • Last update: 16:43

PSV took over the lead in the Eredivisie from Ajax on Sunday afternoon. The team of trainer Roger Schmidt managed to win the first game of 2022. FC Groningen was defeated 0-1 in the Euroborg thanks to Mario Götze’s first competition goal. Winter purchase Joey Veerman made his appearance in the second half as a substitute at PSV, which now stands at 46 points due to the minimal victory. Number two Ajax, which won 0-3 against FC Utrecht earlier this Sunday, follows one point.

The visitors from Eindhoven took the lead with Maximiliano Romero, who replaced the not fully fit Carlos Vinícius as center striker. It was the first starting place for the Argentine attacker in this year at PSV. In addition, there were starting positions in the back line for Jordan Teze, Armando Obispo and left-back Mauro Júnior. Ibrahim Sangaré was missing in midfield because of his participation in the Africa Cup. Nevertheless, Schmidt did not let the recently arrived Veerman start in Groningen. Érick Gutiérrez did appear at the kick-off with the Eindhoven title candidate.

Joey Veerman made his debut on behalf of PSV as a substitute.

PSV’s start in Groningen was promising and the ban was broken in the tenth minute of the meeting. Gakpo had a good pass from the left wing and it was the alert Götze who made the 0-1 in a controlled manner. Remarkably enough, it was only his first goal in the Eredivisie of the 2021/22 season for the attacking midfielder. He has already scored four goals in a European context and one in the Johan Cruijff Scale. Before the opening goal, there was some good disruptive work by Mauro Júnior, who intercepted the ball and then enabled Gakpo to deliver a cross to the scoring Götze. Including his cross against Groningen, Gakpo has ten assists in the Eredivisie this season.

PSV continued to hunt for a second goal against Groningen in the remainder of the first half, which made a somewhat shaken impression. After half an hour of play, Ritsu Doan saw a hard shot go just wide of the wrong side of the post. The home team reached the halftime signal with a small deficit and could therefore continue to hope for a positive result in the first game after the winter break. Trainer Danny Buijs did not opt ​​for substitutions on the side of Groningen at half time. At PSV there were no changes halfway through. It was only after 64 minutes that Schmidt decided to make substitutions. Veerman replaced the battle-weary Marco van Ginkel. At the same time, Romero and Doan were relieved by Yorbe Vertessen and Bruma respectively.

The final phase in Groningen, which saw Leros Duarte hit the bar shortly after the resumption through a free kick, was not full of attractive football. Groningen bravely kept looking for openings in the defense of PSV, but really great opportunities were not noted. The new list leader usually kept the ranks closed and in the meantime hoped for a counter. In the fourth minute of stoppage time match winner Götze still has room for defender Philipp Mwene. Shortly before that, Mauro Júnior had been relieved in left back position by Philipp Max. PSV now focuses on Thursday, when Telstar comes to visit in the eighth final of the TOTO KNVB Cup. The absolute title smasher against Ajax will follow on Sunday in the Philips Stadium. Earlier this season, PSV lost 5-0 in the Johan Cruijff ArenA against the competitor from Amsterdam, although there was also the 0-4 victory in August in the match for the Johan Cruijff Scale.