PSV sold itself short on Sunday afternoon with a 2-2 draw against Feyenoord. The team from Eindhoven took the lead early on and doubled it despite a red card. It then turned into a fighting match in which Alireza Jahanbakhsh scored twice on behalf of the team from Rotterdam in the final phase. The equalizer came in the 96th minute.
The national title is not yet out of sight for PSV, but it could and should have done itself a much greater favor in Rotterdam. Until nine minutes before the end, the team from Eindhoven had a 0-2 lead in De Kuip. Substitute Jahanbakhsh scored two nice goals in the 81st and 96th minutes and thus set the final score at 2-2. Luuk de Jong was clear about it afterwards: “We should never have given this away again.”
And that while PSV got off to such a good start. Ruud van Nistelrooy’s team took the lead in the eighth minute. Orkun Kökcü lost the ball, after which Joey Veerman managed to reach Xavi Simons with a splitting pass. He served Anwar El Ghazi with an excellent assist. The striker got the legion completely silent with the 0-1.
Full infirmary
Feyenoord had the ball and PSV created little and also lost two players within fifteen minutes. Goal scorer El Ghazi has been sidelined for weeks due to a muscle injury. He was replaced by Johan Bakayoko.
Phillipp Mwene then collided with Mats Wieffer. The PSV player was carried off the field with a head injury on a stretcher card and does not seem to be available for the time being. Patrick van Aanholt then made his debut.
Red card
Apart from a few chances in stoppage time, both PSV and Feyenoord showed little more in the first half. Until a strange action by PSV defender Armando Obispo, little was going on. While he has already won a duel, he parked his studs in the thigh of Feyenoord striker Giménez. After intervention by the VAR, referee Makelie sent him off the field.
Less than four minutes later, Thorgan Hazard seemed to make an unforgettable debut for PSV. The hired attacker was only in the field for seven minutes when he scored the second goal for the team from Eindhoven. It was the signal for Feyenoord to step it up a notch.
Resurrection
With support from the home crowd, Feyenoord started chasing. After a good action by Idrissi, substitute Jahanbakhsh headed in the tying goal. The team from Rotterdam then kept pressure on PSV’s goal, while the team from Eindhoven mainly tried to gain time.
That resulted in nine minutes of extra time, which ultimately turned out to be fatal for PSV. Despite a scuffle, a mountain of yellow cards and a fantastic save by PSV keeper Walter Benitez. Jahanbakhsh got too much space and in the 96th minute shot beautifully from about 25 meters away via the inside of the post.
It was not all high in Rotterdam, but the second half was especially exciting. PSV is now fourth in the Eredivisie, still four points behind leader Feyenoord.
Statement of support
The best moment of the game was actually already in the twelfth minute. All rivalry was put aside for a moment and the Feyenoord legion sang You’ll Never Walk Alone. The entire Kuip applauded loudly to support Thijs Slegers.
The PSV press secretary has blood cancer and the stem cell transplants have had no results. He indicated earlier this week that the doctors can no longer do anything for him. Slegers called through social media to become a stem cell donor so that others can be helped.