PSV recorded its eighth league victory in a row against Heracles Almelo on Saturday night. At Philips Stadion, coach Phillip Cocu's team easily won 2-0 from Heracles Almelo. PSV impressed especially before halftime with good play and many chances. Davy Pröpper and Gastón Pereiro provided the goals.
PSV impresses before halftime
With Pereiro replacing Narsingh and Bruma back on the pitch from kickoff, PSV played an outright excellent first half. The only thing you could blame the team for was the number of missed chances, as the 2-0 lead at halftime was a meager reflection of the first half's picture. PSV played dominantly and created at least five good chances in the first quarter of the game alone. Nevertheless, the opening stages were limited to just one goal, and it came in the name of Pröpper. Already in the second minute, the midfielder appeared free in front of goal after a pass from Willems, after which he remained ice cold and put PSV ahead: 1-0. A dozen missed chances later (including one by De Jong, who was unable to find the goal from another fantastic cross by Willems), PSV made it 2-0 from the penalty spot shortly before halftime. After the misses of the past few times, this time it was Pereiro's turn, who unlike his predecessors worked the ball in from 11 meters.
Less spectacle, more points
After halftime, PSV's play was a lot more reserved. The guests were more fierce and came closer to Zoet's goal, but he was hardly in trouble. The first big chance of the second half was for PSV. Pereiro had a free header after a fine attack via Arias, but Castro's save was just as fine. A bit closer to the final whistle, Narsingh could have put PSV up 3-0, but the substitute also had to deal with the Belgian, who has a good past with PSV. With that, it remained 2-0 at Philips Stadium, meaning PSV leads the Eredivisie by four points for at least a day. Ajax can bring the difference back to one point on Sunday afternoon in the home game against Excelsior.
