Tag: Netherlands

European Round-Up: PSV close in, Sporting on song, Graz draw level, Scottish Premiership, Bundesliga

PSV Eindhoven need just four points to be absolutely certain of the Dutch Eredivisie title, their first since 2018. PSV beat Vitesse 6-0  to take their points total to 81, nine ahead of Feyenoord. Luuk de Jong scored twice and Hirving Lozano also got on the scoresheet. PSV may reach 100 points, they now have a goal difference of plus 78. Feyenoord, thanks to an 18th minute goal from Dávid Hancko, won 1-0 at Fortuna Sittard. Ajax, still way behind, beat third-placed Twente 2-1, coming from behind to win with a Steven Bergwijn penalty. PSV are away at Heerenveen on Thursday (25th), while Feyenoord are at Go Ahead Eagles. 

Sporting Clube de Portugal continued to home in on the Portuguese Primeira Liga title with a 4-0 victory at Gil Vicente. Sporting were four-up by half-time, with goals from Francisco Trincão (2), Ousmane Diomande and an own goal. Sporting coach Ruben Amorim, who has been courted by Liverpool, has suddenly distanced himself from talk about him moving in the summer. Sporting’s success has also made some of their players sought-after transfer targets, such as Marcus Edwards, Goncalo Inacio and Viktor Gyokeres. They are four points clear of second-placed Benfica, who won 3-0 against Moreirense.

Red Bull Salzburg received a reminder that the Austrian Bundesliga title race is far from over after losing 3-1 against LASK of Linz. The home side’s Croatian striker Marin Ljubičić scored a hat-trick. Sturm Graz drew level on points with Salzburg with a 3-1 victory at Hartberg and the two sides will meet on April 28. Since losing in Linz, Red Bull Salzburg have replaced their coach Gerhard Struber with Onur Cinel.

The Scottish Premiership is about to begin its final stage with the top six playing each other to decide the destination of the title. Rangers have just one game remaining from the first phase, away at Dundee. The Ibrox side were beaten 3-2 at Ross County after going ahead. Even if they get three points at Dundee, they will be one point behind leaders Celtic. Celtic finished their regular season games with a 3-0 win against St. Mirren. 

Bayer Leverkusen clinched their first ever Bundesliga title with a 5-0 victory against Werder Bremen. Florian Wirtz, their talented midfielder, netted a hat-trick. This meant Leverkusen could not be beaten with five games still to play. They are still unbeaten this season and also have the chance to win both the DFB Pokal and UEFA Europa League. Bayern Munich, whose hopes of silverware are now confined to the Champions League, won 2-0 against Köln, with goals from Raphael Guerreiro and Thomas Müller. Stuttgart, in third place, won 3-0 against Eintracht Frankfurt, while Borussia Dortmund pulled off a 2-1 victory at Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Ajax in the headlines, but PSV are the top act in the Netherlands

PREDICTABLY, the Ajax slump in the first half of the Eredivisie season has captured the attention of the media and football folk around the Netherlands. The four-time European champions have been dismal at times and are trailing far behind the leaders. They only just gained a place in the Conference League play-off and, to cap it all, Ajax were beaten in the KNVB Cup by amateur side USV Hercules from Utrecht.

And while Ajax’s fall from grace has certainly been one of the big stories of the European season, PSV Eindhoven have put in a stellar performance. In fact, PSV have played 36 league games in the calendar year 2023 and they have lost just once. In 2023-24, they have a 100% league record comprising 16 victories in which they have scored 56 goals and conceded just six. 

Their firepower is underlined by the statistics – only three games have not seen them score three or more. Furthermore, PSV have trounced Ajax 5-2 – a defeat which sent the Amsterdamers to the bottom of the Eredivisie – and beaten reigning champions Feyenoord 2-1 away. The Rotterdam side are in second place, but they are 10 points behind Peter Bosz’s team. Ajax are 23 points short of PSV’s total and are in fifth spot, thanks to their recent recovery.

Bosz took over at PSV at the end of last season following the resignation of Ruud van Nistelrooy. They finished second in 2022-23, but were seven points behind Feyenoord. Bosz has changed PSV’s style, introducing a more patient game and transforming them into a energetic pressing team. There were some significant signings in the summer of 2023, including Jerdy Schouten from Bologna (€ 13 million), Noa Lang from Brugge (€ 12.5 million) and Napoli’s Hirving Lozano (€ 15 million). At the same time, PSV sold Ibrahim Sangaré to Nottingham Forest for € 30 million, the latest big money transfer out of Eindhoven.

PSV’s only defeat this season was in the Champions League at Arsenal, where they were soundly beaten 4-0. That didn’t stop them qualifying for the knockout stage and they will now play Borussia Dortmund in the last 16.

PSV have taken advantage of the chaos at Ajax, who have certainly lost their mojo following the departure of the men they called the “three pillars” of their operation – Marc Overmars, their sporting director, CEO Edwin Van der Sar and of course, Erik ten Hag, the coach with is now with Manchester United. Since he left, five men have managed the team, with John van’t Schip the latest appointment, but for how long? Ajax have also sacked their director of football, Sven Mislintat, who was partly blamed for the decline at the club. Ajax have picked up from their poor autumn, but the damage has already been done. 

Feyenoord have lacked the consistency that won them the Eredivisise title in 2022-23. They have only lost twice, to PSV and third-placed Twente, but they failed to get out of a strong Champions League group that included Atlético Madrid, Lazio and Celtic. They did enough to get into the Europa League and they will face Roma in February 2024.

Twente and AZ are the best of the rest, although so far behind PSV they are unlikely to mount a challenge. However, they could easily be cast in the role of “kingmaker” in the second half of the campaign. They are both out of European competition, AZ were eliminated from the Conference League in the group stage, while Twente didn’t get that far.

The league title is PSV’s to lose, unless they slip-up in grand style, it is hard to see the chasing pack eroding their advantage. Ajax will surely recover some of their poise in the coming weeks, but they are not going to worry PSV too much. What could hamper them is the January transfer window, notably if highly-rated winger Johan Bakayoko is lured away from Eindhoven. Plenty of clubs, including some Premier League outfits, are looking at the 20 year-old. If PSV’s form continues, there will be other players that will become targets for clubs around Europe.

Attendances in the Netherlands appear to be falling. The average in the Eredivisie in 2023-24 is currently 17,881 – the lowest for a normal season since 2005-06. Ajax’s crowds are down 13%, hardly surprising given the way things have been going.

Enthusiasm should be maintained through to the end of the season; the Netherlands are taking part in Euro 2024, which will provide a shop window for the talent produced among the bigger Dutch clubs. While this brings in considerable sums of money and maintains the Eredivisie’s reputation for developing young players, it does mean there is a cycle that has its peaks and troughs. Ajax have discovered there is no guarantee success – domestically or international – can be prolonged.