The topper against Ajax is the topic of conversation this day at the coffee machine at work. What do the media write? An afterthought with much praise for Mohamed Ihattaren and Mark van Bommel's tactical find.
VI: tactical find by Van Bommel
Ajax coach Erik ten Hag did not think his colleague Mark van Bommel had tactically trounced him in a hunt for a draw by bringing in Cody Gakpo. However, Voetbal International disputes that reading. In this article on VI PRO all about the PSV coach's substitution that allowed PSV to take a point from the topper after all.
Ihattaren outstanding
According to the same VI, Mohamed Ihattaren was the big star during the topper on Sunday. The still only 17-year-old midfielder received the highest score of 7.5 from the reporters. The Eindhovens Dagblad and Willem van Hanegem are also full of praise for Mo. 'Ihattaren will be best Moroccan player ever if he chooses for Oranje,' says the former international and Icon of Dutch football in his column in the Algemeen Dagblad.
'No choice yet'
Writing in De Telegraaf, Valentijn Driessen was not impressed with the level of PSV - Ajax. His rapporteur was, however, about the level of Ihattaren. The editors of De Telegraaf noted from the youngster's mouth that for now he does not want to make a choice between the Dutch or Moroccan football team. "My father is ill and I want to spend as much time with him as possible. That is often possible during international periods because we are then free for a few days in a row. My family is number one for me and I don't want to regret a choice too soon afterwards," Ihattaren said.
Stretch in PSV
On behalf of the Algemeen Dagblad , Maarten Wijffels analyzed the topper and he wonders this Monday what the match says about the title battle in a broader sense. Ajax, that won't change much anymore in set-up Wijffels thinks: "With PSV, there is more ambiguity about the strength and about the stretch in the playing style. If only because PSV has so far just been working off a huge haul of games. And that combined with a coming and going of players in the transfer market, a situation that has literally lasted until Aug. 31. A player like Ritsu Doan, for example, has only just arrived. Maybe in a month he will turn out to be someone who will help PSV gain more footballing ability in midfield. Or maybe Ryan Thomas turns out to be the missing link at that point," Wijffels said. Read more about it here.
Zoet cherishes point
In addition to Ihattaren, goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet was also important yesterday. With several crucial saves, he prevented Ajax from taking the lead as early as the first half. "I don't know if this was my best game of the season. I'd rather win a game than be important with saves," said Zoet, who also indicated to the Eindhovens Dagblad that he was fed up with the criticism of his performance. "I didn't want to prove myself extra. I only look forward, looking back makes no sense. I've been here under the crossbar for seven years and it's always something."