PSV on Sunday failed to capitalize on the slip-ups of direct rivals Ajax, Vitesse and Feyenoord. Like them, the team remained winless this weekend. Against sc Heerenveen it was 2-2 after a crazy finale.
Dominant
Head coach Roger Schmidt, had his team start Sunday in a 4-3-3 formation and had reserved a starting place for Mo Ihatteren. With him, PSV played dominantly, although it did not yield much at first. Heerenveen, which collapsed en masse, had the best opportunities. With a shot from long range, striker Veerman tested goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo, who was at his post and again after twenty minutes when Veerman had the opening goal at his fingertips.
Götze rewards PSV play
That hardly diminished PSV's dominance. In the first half hour, the team had eighty (!) percent ball possession. That PSV went into the dressing room with a lead was not surprising given that picture. After just under half an hour Mario Götze scored the only goal of the first half in truly magnificent fashion. The German lifted the ball over goalkeeper Mulder after he received the ball in the run from Cody Gakpo.
Decay
Not too long after, Gakpo himself had the 0-2 on his shoe. The striker could have (and perhaps should have) promoted a tight cross from Denzel Dumfries into a goal, but saw his effort roll wide. It was not the first time PSV forgot to reward themselves for the at times impressive field play of the first half. Little of that remained after halftime. With a seemingly empty tank, PSV had to hold their ground against the Frisians, who were able to step up and turn the game around.
Point at the last minute
In the 70th minute, Veerman escaped the attention of the PSV defense and signed for the 1-1. A big disappointment followed ten minutes later. In the 78th minute, Van Bergen outplayed substitute Jorrit Hendrix and left Mvogo defenseless with a through shot into the far corner: 2-1. In a crazy final phase - with chances for sc Heerenveen and a turned back penalty for the Frisians - substitute Joël Piroe saved a point: 2-2.
