Eredivisie ‘big three’ recap: Ajax go top as PSV stutter, pressure mounts on Feyenoord boss | OneFootball

After more than 800 days, Ajax are back at the Eredivisie summit. The Netherlands’ Monday morning papers have provided intense coverage on this, a ‘crisis atmosphere’ at PSV, and the continuing precarious situation of Feyenoord manager Brian Priske.

Ajax on the rise

De Telegraaf’s headline reads: ‘Slithering towards glory’ the day after Ajax’s 2-0 away win at Fortuna Sittard. ‘A slip was lurking. But Ajax remained on its feet even on the scandalously bad grass pitch of Fortuna Sittard.’ Somewhat ironically, given his broken toe revealed after the game, Wout Weghorst was the man who ‘broke’ the match open, according to the morning paper.

The substitute scored the 0-1 after a penalty miss by Steven Berghuis. ‘After Weghorst last week, Berghuis failed from eleven meters, but in the aftermath he delivered the ball to the striker, who worked it in.’

‘After two dramatic seasons, the top position has been an unprecedented luxury for anyone who cares about Ajax for a long time.’ The Algemeen Dagblad was another who boasted of the Amsterdam club’s feats. ‘With the victory over Fortuna Sittard, Ajax is once again the leader in the Eredivisie after more than two years. It completes the metamorphosis under Italian coach Farioli; last year, the Amsterdam team was at some point bottom of the table.’

Ajax currently have something that PSV simply does not have, concludes the AD. ‘Matches that require a different dynamic, the title candidates have plenty of those. Ajax has had to pull the victories out of their toes all season, often because the game is not surprising enough. That has also been the case at PSV for a few months now. The national champion just can no longer manage to stay damage-free.’

Het Parool pays special attention to Weghorst as Ajax’s ‘gamechanger’. The newspaper explained how the striker, who replaced Brian Brobbey in the second half, made the difference. ‘Not with eye-catching actions, but with advantages he gathered together. In difficult matches, Weghorst has already given Ajax twelve points.’

PSV under the microscope

While the sentiment at Ajax could hardly be more positive, the opposite can be said at PSV. The faltering champion of the Netherlands failed to win against Willem II again and drew 1-1 with Willem II, and will now travel to Italy for the Champions League meeting with Juventus.

‘Full of chagrin to Turin’, headlines De Telegraaf , which writes about a ‘crisis atmosphere’. ‘The team of trainer Peter Bosz has completely lost it after the turn of the year, lost points at home to Willem II for the fourth time in five Eredivisie matches this calendar year (1-1) and saw Ajax, who also have a match in hand, take over the lead. And then Noa Lang also dropped a bombshell afterwards.’

That ‘bombshell’ refers to the interview Lang gave afterwards on ESPN. In it, he indicated that he expected more positivity from the PSV supporters. ‘Lang’s constant liking of Ajax posts on social media, his repeated declarations of love towards arch-rival Ajax and previous clashes with supporters, including after the match he lost to PEC Zwolle, have not done Lang’s popularity in Eindhoven any good.’

According to the Eindhovens Dagblad, PSV was ‘unrecognizable’ against the Tilburgers. ‘At PSV, things are going from bad to worse this year in the Eredivisie, where points are being spilled as if it doesn’t matter. The team drew against AZ and NEC, lost at PEC Zwolle and now dropped two very expensive points against Willem II in the championship race with Ajax.’

‘PSV is no longer a shadow of the team that dominated the Eredivisie in the first half of the season’, according to De Volkskrant, which believes that both PSV and Feyenoord, lack the chemistry that Ajax have. ‘Broken chemistry can also be seen at Feyenoord, the club of ‘act normal’, of ‘boerenkool met worst’, where they ate their bellies full of caviar for three years under Arne Slot and are now gnawing on dry rusk again. Some of the audience is done with trainer Brian Priske, who has been dangling for weeks. Three national titles won in 25 years and thinking that you are one of the permanent championship candidates. Strange. Spoiled.’

‘Priske must still fear for his job’

Although Feyenoord defeated fellow city-dwellers Sparta Rotterdam, De Telegraaf is not so enthusiastic. ‘With the first victory in the competition in 2025, 3-0 at home against Sparta, Feyenoord has temporarily averted a sporting crisis.

The AD saw that Feyenoord needed a long time to score the second goal. ‘The troubled Dane (Brian Priske), who still has to fear for his job, hoped that Feyenoord would be able to consolidate the lead after the break.’

‘Feyenoord was far from impressive, but after three defeats in a row and with AC Milan at home on the doorstep, Feyenoord and trainer Priske cherished the three points’, concludes the newspaper, which is supported by Rijnmond. The local media saw that the home team pulled out all the stops in the final phase, when it was only 1-0 ahead, to pull the victory over the line. ‘Feyenoord looked uncertain and even wasted time in their own Kuip.’

(Article and quotes collected from VoetbalPrimeur)

GBeNeFN | Max Bradfield