Weekly Analysis

PSV beat Heerenveen 2–0 but Leipzig will reveal more

The win that settled nothing

PSV 2–0 Heerenveen on Friday, and it barely registered. That is the problem. The scoreline looks like a comfortable night at the Philips Stadion, but Sam Kersten walked away thinking his side deserved a point (7). He is not wrong. PSV scored twice and never convinced anyone.

Bosz was missing most of his squad. The international break that would not end left him with four players, and two months into the season he still cannot say what this rebuilt PSV actually is (8) (3). Friday's win was the fifth result in five games without an answer.

Feyenoord are ahead, and the table is not lying

Feyenoord beat AZ 2–0 on Saturday and took top spot (14). One point now separates them from AZ and from PSV, who sit second on 19 points with a goal difference of +16 (11). Ajax keep handing points over at home, 1–1 against NEC, their fourth home slip this season (17) (18).

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The Eredivisie is tighter than PSV's form suggests. W D W L W is a champion's record only if the W's keep coming.

Leipzig on Saturday, and a squad still being built

Tuesday's Champions League trip to RB Leipzig matters more than any Heerenveen game. Both teams go in without a point (2) (4). Bosz made his position plain: "Er zal een ander PSV staan tegen Leipzig" (3). Demichelis has breathing room at Leipzig after a big win, which makes it harder, not easier (6). 4,761 PSV supporters are travelling, with the away ends sold out for Leipzig and Porto (2).

So the week's real story is not the three points. It is the squad Bosz does not have yet. He praised Shuryjano Cornecion after the 18-year-old's 82nd-minute debut (8) (10). Jeroen Kapteijns has Bosz "behoorlijk onder de indruk" of 17-year-old Mikkel Bro Hansen as the answer to the striker problem (9). That is the state of things: the fixes are teenagers.

What to watch

Leipzig on Tuesday, then ADO Den Haag away on Saturday, then Porto away. Three away matches in eleven days will tell you more about this PSV than Heerenveen ever could. Paul Wanner has Aston Villa, Man Utd and Newcastle circling, with a €50m valuation hanging over the next window (5). Bro Hansen's minutes are the other number to track. Eleven days, four games, and still no clear picture.

Sources

  • 2. psvinside.nl — Duizenden PSV-fans in overvolle uitvakken én in thuisvakken Leipzig en Porto: 'PSV-uitwedstrijden uitverkocht, Ajax en Feyenoord niet'
  • 3. telegraaf.nl — Peter Bosz stapt met koffer vol vraagtekens in vliegtuig voor tweede duel Champions League: ’Er zal een ander PSV staan tegen Leipzig’
  • 4. elfvoetbal.nl — Voorbeschouwing RB Leipzig ? PSV: PSV in Duitsland op jacht naar drie punten
  • 5. ontheminute.com — EXCLUSIVE: Man Utd and Newcastle face fresh competition from Aston Villa for €50m Austrian midfielder
  • 6. vi.nl — Leipzig-trainer Demichelis heeft vlak voor CL-duel met PSV weer ademruimte
  • 7. voetbal.headliner.nl — Er valt niet altijd wat te halen bij PSV, maar nu was dat wel het geval
  • 8. vi.nl — 'Bij PSV geldt dat je gewoon moet winnen'
  • 9. voetbalprimeur.nl — Oplossing voor spitsenprobleem PSV: 'Bosz is behoorlijk onder de indruk van hem'
  • 10. soccernews.nl — Bosz: “Nu nog een jochie, maar geloof mij, dit gaat een hele goede worden”
  • 11. voetbalprimeur.nl — Bouwman blikt terug op incident met Van Bommel: 'Dat was het vervelendste'
  • 14. nieuws.nl — Feyenoord verslaat AZ en pakt koppositie in Eredivisie
  • 17. rtl.nl — Ajax laat ook in thuiswedstrijd tegen NEC punten liggen
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