It was a nerve-wracking game at the Philips Stadium on Saturday night. What seemed on paper to be a relatively easy task for PSV, turned into a game that was only decided in the final stages. Guus Til crowned himself the matchwinner by scoring the winning goal in the final minutes, setting the stage for a historic winning streak.
The match was chaotic and characterized by a remarkable number of penalty kicks. In total, the referee pointed to the spot three times, something that rarely happens in the VriendenLoterij Eredivisie. By comparison, the record stands at four penalties in one match, the game between PSV and RBC Roosendaal in 2005 (4-1), in which all penalty kicks at the time were for PSV.
Historic winning streak
With the victory, PSV also made premier league and club history. Never before had a team in the Eredivisie managed to win at least ten games twice in one calendar year. Earlier this year, between April and August, PSV already won ten games in a row, but was then interrupted by the loss against Telstar on Aug. 30. The win over Heracles Almelo again marked the tenth consecutive victory within the same calendar year.
Familiar names on the scoreboard
Individually, there were also several players who proved their worth. Ricardo Pepi netted for the fourth consecutive league game, bringing his tally to six goals this season in the VriendenLoterij Eredivisie. Joey Veerman also scored his sixth league goal this season. Ismael Saibari scored his ninth goal with his penalty kick. And Guus Til reached a special milestone with his decisive goal: it was his 40th Eredivisie goal in the service of PSV. What's more, in the last six games, he has scored no less than seven goals.
Ivan Perišić close to personal record
Ivan Perišić again made an important contribution with his seventh assist of the season. With that, halfway through the league, he is already close to his total from last season, when he gave nine assists. His personal record stands at 11 assists, which he achieved during the 2017-2018 season at Inter Milan in Serie A.
Memorial match
Prior to kickoff, the match was also dedicated to remembrance. There was a remembrance of all PSV supporters who are no longer among us and a special remembrance of Frits Philips. A subdued moment that gave extra meaning to the evening in the Philips Stadium.
