PSV started the defense of their Eredivisie championship with a dominant 6-1 win over visiting Sparta Rotterdam. Sergino Dest started and played 82 excellent minutes, with no indication of rust from his 11 month layoff and recovery from a torn ACL (and subsequent surgery). After a shortened pre-season, which included scoring a brace in a start versus FC Eindhoven two weeks earlier, fellow American Ricardo Pepi was held out of this match to allow him more time to return to full match fitness.
PSV was truly superior in almost every aspect of this match, and got the party going early courtesy of Ruben van Bommel. Fans were barely settled in their seats when Ruben, the son of football legend Mark van Bommel, scored in the 3rd minute, off of an excellent through ball by Yarek Gasiorowski. Van Bommel’s pace beat the Sparta defender to the ball, and he coolly slotted the ball into the back of the net.
Continuing to control the tempo of the game, PSV’s second goal eventually came in the 40th minute, as experienced Croatian winger Ivan Perisic struck a strong shot on target. Then, in first half extra-time, Sergino Dest joined the party at 45+2 minutes, beating his defender with a perfectly executed give-and-go with Alassane Plea before striking a powerful shot past the Sparta goalkeeper. Dest’s goal resulted in a big 3-goal halftime lead for PSV, and turned a difficult deficit to an impossible one for visiting Sparta to overcome.
The second half continued the PSV onslaught, with Joey Veerman, Guus Til, and Gasiorowski adding their own goals to the scoreline. It looked like a PSV halfcourt offensive drill for much of the game, to the credit of the PSV players and coaching staff. It was clear that all the players knew their assignments, and knew how to play together.
A perfect example of this was PSV’s fifth goal. Dest received a cross-field pass, ran up the right side, and seeing the run from Veerman, calmly (almost non-chalantly) played the ball through to him in open space, allowing Veerman to execute an excellent cut-back cross to Til at the top of the box, who finished it off with a powerful strike to the top right corner. Dest, Veerman, and Til have played together for a while, and it showed in the execution; each of them played almost blind passes to their teammates, trusting that they would be there to receive it.
The only hiccup to the PSV party was a 63rd minute goal by Sparta. With PSV almost in practice mode by this point in the game, Sparta intercepted a pass into their box, and with all PSV defenders up high, they quickly countered with pace. Shunsuke Mito, who was otherwise largely ineffective, sprinted 70 yards down the pitch, and with PSV’s defense nearly catching up, he squared it around PSV’s goalkeeper Matej Kovar to teammate Sayfallah Ltaief, who calmly slotted it into the empty net. The stadium went completely silent, with PSV’s party momentarily halted.
With the win, PSV goes straight to first place on goal differential, starting the 2025-26 season where they’ve been accustomed to: first place in the standings. Sergino Dest, who was held out of the USMNT’s Gold Cup matches this past Summer in order to continue an individualized training regimen, showed that the time was time well spent. No visible sign of hesitation, losing a step, or anything along those lines–Dest was able to easily beat his man off the dribble time and time again. He had multiple clear breakaways, with only his crossing to the top of the box letting him down at times. When that crossing ability comes back, both Dest and PSV (as well as the USMNT) will be very difficult to defend against.
Other than Dest, there were several other standouts: Veerman had a goal and two assists, while center-back Gasiorowski had a goal and an assist. Ruben van Bommel had a great start to his PSV career, while 22-year-old center-back Ryan Flamingo had a quietly effective game, winning two tackles and stopping nearly everything in his path. He also was the engine that started nearly every PSV attack from the center of defense.
Speaking to the media after the game, PSV manager Peter Bosz was effusive in his assessment. “Scoring six goals is of course incredibly good and I am very happy with that,” Bosz said. “Good attacks, we played a lot of forward football, showed great combinations in possession and from the long ball possession we also created a lot of chances in the end.”
PSV’s brand of football under Bosz is direct and exciting. That’s Dutch football in a nutshell, and PSV under Bosz does it very, very well. A great start to the season for PSV, and the first steps of what should be a comeback year for Dest (and Pepi) for PSV and the USMNT.
Both Dest and Pepi are expected to be starters for PSV this season after returning from respective long-term injuries. For Pepi, the good news is that Plea, who started at center forward, did not get on the scoresheet. With former captain and club legend Luuk De Jong moving on, and Pepi handed the #9 shirt, this appears to be the season for Pepi to take the next step. Pepi is slated to return this Sunday, when PSV travels to Enschede, to face off against Taylor Booth and FC Twente.
