Yes, for a long time it will be about the decisive 1-2, about the wonderful goal of Noussair Mazraoui, a striking shot with the left. Well, not so much about the goal itself, more about the introduction, namely whether Daley Blind kept the ball inside or not at the sidelines. In the end, referee Danny Makkelie approved the goal, after lengthy consultation with the VAR.
And yes, the bouncing ball seemed off, sure. But if the bulge of the ball is even slightly above the line, even a millimeter, the goal is valid, and the VAR may only disallow the goal if it is absolutely obvious. It wasn’t. It is one of the vulnerable sides of video arbitration, that there are no cameras perpendicular to the sidelines, that the image can sometimes not be final.
Anyway. The game is still especially unfriendly after that, in the last fifteen minutes. There is almost more to talk about that one moment than about the match. It’s pretty shabby. PSV – Ajax (1-2), the top duel for the top position in the Eredivisie, the prelude to the title, is sometimes frighteningly unattractive as a viewing game. Especially for rest. The leader before the kick-off, PSV in other words, realizes deep in his heart, or perhaps not even so deeply, that Ajax is better. Across the board, the champion has slightly better football players. There is more line in the system, more stability in the team. Ajax is better at the ball, although there is not enough of that in Eindhoven on Sunday. Ajax is also harder. Mentally and physically.
Excellent competition mentality
PSV counter that with fearlessness after rest, and fighting spirit. Smartness too. Growing confidence in success. The fact that Ajax was not a frontrunner until Sunday is mainly due to Ajax itself, because of points lost in home matches in an incomprehensible way. Ajax is a machine that sometimes simmers or stalls, PSV is a team of belching, of perseverance, of continuing until the last minute. An excellent match mentality has taken PSV far and may even lead to the national title, although that chance is considerably smaller due to the defeat.
PSV needs a ruse, Sunday. And so trainer Roger Schmidt arms himself with a rarely used system, with two real attackers, with Mario Götze as the free declarant, with three controlling midfielders. Schmidt, the man who became famous with Vollgasfussball, is initially mainly from the inhibitions. Yes, it is difficult for Ajax to play football through the crowds. Nothing actually happens like that for a long time. Then football is suddenly an annoying game, at least to watch, especially in such an empty stadium. And just when the Ajax players start to get annoyed by the slow pace, by the opponent, just by the whole afternoon, the goal is scored that can save the game as entertainment.
Brian Brobbey scores with a header in the 34th minute, his last action of the afternoon. It’s heroic in a way, as Brobbey lay down for a few minutes after a duel with Obispo. He walks on for a while, well, he stumbles, waiting for the substitution for Danilo when he walks to the front one more time to head in Tadic’s perfect cross, which he easily beats Obispo and Mauro Junior is in the air. Maybe they weren’t expecting him anymore, the tipsy soldier.
PSV is looking for the attack after the break
And so it is 0-1, so PSV has to do a little more after the break, look for the attack, for example. Then Ritsu Doan is somewhat close to a goal, as Olivier Boscagli was before halftime on a corner. PSV needs a mistake by Ajax to score. Jurriën Timber loses the ball, Cody Gakpo takes over. Via Joey Veerman it goes very quickly to Mario Götze, who simply turns away from Edson Alvarez and pokes the ball in the corner.
That’s almost it, in terms of PSV, although Timber saves with a nice tackle on an impending breakthrough by Doan. Ajax gets better chances, but PSV has now fallen into the mode of belief in success. PSV runs, flies, sometimes hunts for good moments, loses awe. Ajax gets better chances via Berghuis and Gravenberch, and so wins because of that fantastic shot by Mazraoui, plus the meticulous study of the images and nine minutes of extra time.