PSV is no longer the leader in the Eredivisie. Coach Phillip Cocu's team went down 0-2 against Ajax at Philips Stadion, taking over first place. With six games to go, the difference is two points in Amsterdam's favor.
Dominant, ineffective
Despite a half that PSV dominated almost in its entirety, it was looking at a nasty 1-0 deficit at halftime. That had everything to do with Cocu's team's downright poor start. After just over 70 seconds, Milik appeared completely free in front of Zoet's goal and caused an early setback with a header: 0-1. PSV looked anything but beaten. It played with conviction and almost constantly looked for the Ajax goal, which also resulted in chances for Locadia and Pröpper, among others. Too often, however, the goal was off target and at times PSV also lacked some luck. For example, referee Kuipers could have put the ball on the spot midway through the first half after a foul by Bazoer on Guardado, but he decided to give a corner kick without a ball stirring from the Ajax player.
El Ghazi decides topper
Because Milik missed two big chances shortly before halftime, PSV still had 45 minutes to reverse the deficit. Nevertheless, there was no sign of a strong start to the second half. It was Ajax that claimed the ball more and more and through Gudelj in the 52nd minute was also very close to a goal. After Guardado slipped, the Serb was able to strike and did so beyond the reach of Zoet. To his relief, Zoet saw the ball go wide via the outside of the post. With Tuesday's 120 minutes of football in their legs, PSV had increasing difficulty in creating a serious goal threat. Narsingh had the Philips Stadium cheering briefly once more when he found the net from the ball, but Kuipers had no choice but to reject the goal for offside. Fifteen minutes before time, the decision followed through substitute El Ghazi: 0-2.
