Second-placed PSV hosted league leaders Ajax in Eindhoven on Sunday in a crucial game for the championship battle. With the gap to Ajax at 6 points, PSV had the opportunity to close the gap to just 3 points with a win.
A 2-0 loss thanks to goals from Davy Klaassen and Bertrand Traore has all but thrown PSV out of the title race, manager Peter Bosz told ESPN after the match. "Things will have to go very crazy. What is it? Seven games, nine points. That's usually out of reach," said Bosz.
Ajax beat PSV for the second time this season after winning 3-2 at home in October. Italian manager Francesco Farioli had his side play a rigid defensive structure in Eindhoven, which was very similar to how Ajax played in October. "Ajax deservedly won," Bosz continued.
"I don't know what they do differently from what they usually do. Nothing. The point is that they executed their way of playing better than we executed our way of playing. I didn't think it was good enough from our side. Certainly not the first half. The second half, I thought we started better."
Bosz and PSV approached the match against Ajax with fresh optimism after winning two Eredivisie games in a row for the first time since early December. The dip in form cost PSV the top spot, and Ajax grabbed an 8-point lead.
However, the Dutch manager saw a very different team from the one he had seen recently. "I've seen us play better football than before. Unfortunately, I could not see that reflected today. It was nervous and not the level we are capable of."