With six wins in a row, PSV has it pretty easy in the Eredivisie for now. Maybe a little too easy, think club icons Willy and René van de Kerkhof. Because if Juventus suddenly has a strong opponent on the field, PSV is not ready for that. Against Fortuna Sittard, on Sunday, PSV could then do it in first gear again. “I slept wonderfully in the Fortuna stadium”, says Willy somewhat cynically. “If those people had not woken me up, I would still be there.”
The relatively light schedule in the competition is not really an advantage for PSV, the brothers state in the Willy and René Podcast of Omroep Brabant. “I thought that PSV would slowly be able to play themselves into shape in the first few weeks, but I haven’t noticed much of that yet”, says René. Willy is also not getting excited about PSV. “I haven’t even seen them play as weakly as in the first half against Fortuna. Malik Tillman and Joey Veerman didn’t even have to put on their football gear, they did so little, although Tillman did score two beautiful goals.”
“Ajax favored by the referee.”
Perhaps the necessary sharpness will come naturally now that players like Ivan Perišic, Noa Lang and Rick Karsdorp are emerging as potential first-team players. “That does give Peter Bosz a luxury problem, but it is a very nice problem”, Willy thinks. “Moreover, the first fifteen men know that they will be getting a lot of work anyway. Someone like Saibari came in excellently yesterday.” According to René, it is urgently needed for PSV to find the upward trend. “Sporting is coming here next week, I have seen them play and they are not a bad team.”
The brothers are not yet surprised by competitors Feyenoord and Ajax. “And Ajax should absolutely have been awarded a penalty at Go Ahead”, grumbles René. “I dare say that if it had happened at the other side, the ball would have gone to the spot. But that has always been the case. Ajax and Feyenoord and to a lesser extent PSV often get a little help. Every now and then, the top clubs need a helping hand and some referees are happy to do that.”
“Willem II could be difficult at times.”
Before the match against Sporting, the derby against Willem II awaits in Tilburg on Saturday. “That could be a tough match,” Willy thinks. “I rate Willem II a bit higher than Fortuna and we have often had a hard time in Tilburg.” In the podcast, Willy and René give their prediction for the match and also extensively discuss the Champions League match against Juventus from last week.
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