Mar 04, 2024 at 6:24 AM Update: 8 hours ago
The 25th national title in club history seems to be in the cards for PSV following Sunday’s draw once morest Feyenoord (2-2). That feeling also exists in the Eindhoven team. “It would be very careless if we gave this away.”
Trainer Peter Bosz joked at the press conference on Friday that he would light up a cigar if PSV beat Feyenoord on Sunday. With this, the Eindhoven team would take a giant step towards the title.
After Sunday’s draw, the PSV coach was presented with a cigar Veronica Offsidereporter, but Bosz did not raise it. “Thanks, but you have to earn a cigar. That is not the case now,” Bosz responded with a big grin.
Yet the Apeldoorn resident cannot possibly be dissatisfied with his team’s draw once morest Feyenoord. PSV thus maintained a ten-point lead over Feyenoord and crushed the last bit of title hopes of the reigning national champions.
“If we mightn’t win, we had to make sure we didn’t lose. We did that well,” captain Luuk de Jong said followingwards. ESPN.
On Sunday, several Feyenoord players threw in the towel, realizing that it is very unlikely that PSV will give away the lead. PSV midfielder Guus Til also admitted followingwards that he does not see that happening any time soon.
“It would be very careless if we gave this away now, I don’t see that happening anymore,” Til said at the press conference. “Although I cannot say here that it has been definitively played. I don’t know if you ever watch the NBA Finals (the American basketball league, ed.), but players don’t say that following two victories in a best-of-seven series that they won.”
PSV still mainly hits ‘little ones’
PSV will play ten more competition matches this season, of which it can lose three anyway. Home matches once morest AZ and FC Twente and away matches once morest Go Ahead Eagles and NEC are, on paper, the most difficult hurdles to overcome.
Furthermore, Bosz’s team only awaits matches once morest ‘little ones’. PSV has not lost any points once morest those ‘little ones’ this season. The three draws of this year were once morest FC Utrecht (1-1), Ajax (1-1) and therefore Feyenoord.
Feyenoord coach Slot told the press conference on Sunday that in his eyes PSV will become champions because the Eindhoven team also finds solutions to achieve victories once morest lesser opponents. Bosz agrees with his fellow trainer.
“I think we did great in games once morest lesser teams,” Bosz said. “That’s great, because the most difficult thing in football is to always maintain concentration and sharpness, even outside the top matches.”
“Last year, PSV lost points once morest clubs like FC Emmen and Fortuna Sittard. That kind of thing has not happened to us this season. If we indeed become champions, this is also the mental title.”
PSV is still aiming for several records
The main question seems to be how quickly ‘the flat cart’ can be brought out of the stable in Eindhoven for the 25th national title in club history. And with which records PSV will end the championship year.
The Eindhoven team can become the earliest champion ever, as well as the team with the most points in an Eredivisie season ever.
Moreover, PSV can become the second Eredivisie club to ever become undefeated champions. Only Ajax managed that in the 1994/1995 season under coach Louis van Gaal.
Those records would give PSV’s possible championship year even more shine, De Jong believes. “If there are records to be broken, you have to go for it. But we have to keep going every match and not become lazy.”
Remaining PSV matches this Eredivisie season:
- March 8: Go Ahead Eagles (away)
- March 17: FC Twente (home)
- March 30: NEC (away)
- April 2: Excelsior (out)
- April 6: AZ (home)
- April 13: Vitesse (home)
- April 25: Heerenveen (away)
- May 5: Sparta (home)
- May 12: Fortuna Sittard (away)
- May 19: RKC (home)