PSV has had a simple evening in Nijmegen. At halftime opponent NEC was already long and wide on the back: 0-3. In the end, after 90 minutes, the final score was 2-4. Thanks to the victory, the team from Eindhoven is ahead of competitor AZ, which drew earlier in the day.
In the twelfth minute of the game, football was a side issue. NEC fans had called to applaud the deceased PSV press chief Thijs Slegers. It made for an impressive minute in which the game also came to a standstill. Even before the first whistle, a minute’s silence was held to mark the death of Slegers.
0-1 was already the score when the loud applause sounded in the twelfth minute. Luuk de Jong had given PSV the lead shortly before when he reacted alertly to a rebound.
Special hit
It was not only an emotional evening because of the ode to Slegers. It certainly was for Olivier Boscagli. The PSV defender was last in the starting line-up a year ago, when he sustained a serious knee injury.
The Frenchman was immediately important on his return. He headed in the 0-2 from a free kick. The goal meant so much to Boscagli that he fell to the ground crying.
For PSV, the party got even bigger a few minutes later when Joey Veerman was the end station of a fast attack. He decided the game before the break by making it 0-3.
Good win
PSV remained hungry even after the break. It soon came to an even bigger lead after De Jong tapped in a cross from the left. It was another nice attack. Not only the score, but also the game image indicated that the people of Eindhoven were on their way to a more than deserved victory. It played frivolously and left nothing of NEC intact.
And that while a difficult away game was expected in Nijmegen in advance. Especially given the dramatic imbalance of PSV. Finally, Ruud van Nistelrooij’s team also showed that they can play an excellent pot on foreign soil.
A clean sheet it didn’t. The goal against after 60 minutes was one to frame. Oussama Tannane shot beautifully into the cross from a great distance. A goal that no one at PSV could do anything about.
Good business
After the 1-4, the level at PSV dropped, but it did not run into problems anymore. Yet it was again Tannane who scored with a wonderful goal and thus determined the final score: 2-4.
All in all, PSV booked an important victory and even took two points over AZ, which drew against Heerenveen earlier in the evening. Excelsior will visit Eindhoven next week.
Read also: Ode to deceased Thijs Slegers: minute of applause during PSV match