Sunday's meeting promised to be the biggest game of the Eredivisie season as league leaders Ajax met second-placed PSV in a crucial game in the title race. Ajax boasted a 6-point lead ahead of Sunday after drawing at home to AZ prior to the international break, giving PSV the chance to close to gap to just 3 points with a win.
A hectic week had PSV suddenly dealing with a tuberculosis infection for striker Lucas Perez, leaving Luuk de Jong as their lone striker in the matchday squad. Midfielder Ismael Saibari was given his first start in three games after being left out of the matchday squad for the away match at Arsenal due to disciplinary reasons. American starlet Malik Tillman returned to the bench after 2.5 months of dealing with an ankle injury.
Ajax manager Francesco Farioli handed Lucas Rosa a start at right-back in absence of Anton Gaaei, who picked up a red card against AZ. Davy Klaassen got the nod in midfield over Kian Fitz-Jim as Steven Berghuis started on the right wing instead of Bertrand Traore.
A cagey opening 15 minutes saw both teams create just one chance, with Ajax's Kenneth Taylor and PSV's Ismael Saibari both unable to open the scoring early on with efforts from inside the box.
Farioli's Ajax, nowadays often lauded as a team of fighters, maintained a rigid defensive structure and showcased some opportunistic football when given the opportunity, often opting for the long ball forward and hardly keeping the ball in possession for extended periods of time.
PSV applied pressure as the match approached the half-hour mark, but couldn't convert the few chances given to them by the staunchly defending Amsterdam side.
The home crowd were silenced shortly after as Davy Klaassen stayed true to his nickname and slotted home the 0-1 with a surprising effort out of a turn. The goal was Klaassen's 82nd in the Eredivisie, making him Ajax's second-highest goalscorer of this century behind Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (121).
PSV manager Peter Bosz changed his side in two spots after the break, giving Malik Tillman his first Eredivisie minutes since January 11th as he replaced Guus Til. Manchester United loanee Tyrell Malacia replaced Mauro Junior at left-back, who moved to the midfield to fill in for Joey Veerman.
The home side furiously started the second half, and Ajax had no choice but to retreat to a no-nonsense defence as PSV opened the second half with seven efforts in the first 15 minutes.
It was to no avail for the reigning champions as a long kick by goalkeeper Matheus ended up in substitute Bertrand Traore's feet, and the Burkinese winger was given a chance to shoot from distance after Malacia failed to contain the former Chelsea man. Traore took his chance and beat Argentine stopper Walter Benitez with a low-driven effort for the 2-0.
The goal knocked the wind out of PSV's sails as the home side failed to put further pressure on Ajax in the final 20 minutes of the crucial battle in the title race.
A couple of chances from Ajax were all the so-called 'Topper' had to offer before the entire Ajax sideline erupted following Serdar Gozubuyuk's final whistle. Ajax left Eindhoven with a 2-0 win and widened the gap to PSV to 9 points with just seven games remaining.
View all the statistics of PSV-Ajax on Flashscore.
