Eredivisie End of Season Review: PSV Eindhoven | OneFootball

Finish position: 1st

Overview:

PSV won the league for the second season in a row, following one of the most memorable title races in Eredivisie history, culminating in the 26th top flight title in the club’s history. Trailing leaders Ajax by nine points with just five games to go, five straight wins sealed the deal whilst their rivals capitulated. The highlight of the season is undoubtedly that 3-2 win at De Kuip, which propelled them towards end-of-season glory. Trailing 2-0, up stepped Ivan Perisic and Noa Lang, with the latter scoring a 99th minute winner, to keep up the pace with Ajax.

The crucial difference between PSV and Ajax was the former’s ability to keep scoring goals, with Peter Bosz’s side notching 103 goals in 34 league games. The table below shows how goals were spread out evenly across the team with eight attacking players all dropping phenomenal numbers.

PSV’s top scorers in the Eredivisie this season. Courtesy of FotMob.

PSV’s exploits in Europe should also be highlighted, beating Liverpool and getting a result against PSG in the UEFA Champions League league phase, before knocking out Juventus in the play off round. Ultimately, they were knocked out following the 7-1 drubbing at the hands of Arsenal in Eindhoven. As for the domestic cup, they disappointingly lost to eventual winners Go Ahead Eagles in the semi-finals.

Player of the season: Noa Lang

This award could go to any one of PSV’s attackers, with Perisic, Malik Tillman, Ismael Saibari, Guus Til and veteran Luuk de Jong all worthy of this award. However, Lang’s 21 goal contributions throughout the campaign showed a level of consistency that hasn’t been seen before by the 25-year-old winger.

Young player of the season: Malik Tillman

The 22-year-old scored three goals in the last two matches, and also excelled in a Champions League crunch match against Shakhtar Donetsk in November. His output of 16 goals in all competitions is by far his most prolific season as he keeps evolving into a top class midfielder.

Summer needs:

PSV are linked with Chelsea’s young goalkeeper Mike Penders, who has had a great season on loan at Genk, as Walter Benitez will depart the club. However the departure of Olivier Boscagli is the most pressing issue, with a replacement desperately needed. The 27-year-old French defender will join Brighton on a free transfer, having performed excellently for PSV all season.

PSV also made clear that they followed Sem Steijn before he confirmed his summer move to Feyenoord. Therefore, it could be an indication that Peter Bosz is looking for a central attacking threat to add to all the firepower his team currently possesses.

Grade: A+

GBENeFN | Samuel Fabre