PSV easily dealt with Heracles Almelo on Sunday afternoon. At the Philips Stadion, it barely gave away a chance and scored three goals itself. As a result, the club retook second place in the Eredivisie.
Strong start
Even before even a minute of football had been played at Philips Stadium, PSV knew it could not afford a slip-up this Easter weekend. After wins over AZ, Vitesse and Feyenoord, the pressure was on Roger Schmidt's team in the battle for UEFA Champions League football. In the opening stages, PSV fortunately did not appear to have suffered any withdrawal symptoms from an Eredivisie-less weekend, as PSV took the lead within ten minutes.
Boscagli directs
On a pass from Olivier Boscagli - playing in midfield in place of Ibrahim Sangaré - Donyell Malen rushed past his direct opponent in the 9th minute, then placed the ball into the short corner: 1-0. In the 2-0, Boscagli was again of great value. This time he served Denzel Dumfries. The captain, as often in PSV attacks, put his head against a cross from the Frenchman and helped his team to a comfortable margin of two early in the match.
Little to do
Heracles Almelo goalkeeper Blaswich and Yvon Mvogo then distinguished themselves with saves on attempts by Malen, Burgzorg (Heracles Almelo, twice) and Mario Götze, respectively, keeping that margin on the scoreboard even at halftime. In the second half, both goalkeepers featured less in the chapter. After about 65 minutes, Blaswich had to intervene after a header by Cody Gakpo, but otherwise PSV did not really push. Mvogo did not even see a ball coming at him at all.
Second place
In the final minute, substitute Mohamed Ihattaren made the PSV bench rejoice one more time. The attacking midfielder lurched to the far cross and placed the ball beautifully: 3-0. As a result, PSV effortlessly retook second place from AZ. Both teams have 58 points after 28 matches. Vitesse (55) and Feyenoord (51) follow at some distance. In a week from now, PSV travels to Venlo for an away game against VVV-Venlo.
