Lutsharel Geertruida silenced doubters with a clinical goal and dominant marking job on his full debut, proving the summer signing is already vital to PSV’s title defense.
Lutsharel Geertruida made a strong impact on his first PSV start, scoring in the 3-1 victory over Ajax and receiving praise from head coach Peter Bosz.
PSV secured an important away win at the Johan Cruijff ArenA on Saturday evening, handing Ajax their first setback under their new manager. Ricardo Pepi and Geertruida put the visitors 2-1 ahead at half-time before PSV eventually completed a 3-1 victory.
For Geertruida, the occasion was particularly significant. The defender had only made his first PSV appearances as a substitute in the home victory over FC Groningen on August 23. He was then left on the bench for the entire 90 minutes against FC Utrecht, despite PSV recording a convincing 6-1 victory.
Bosz nevertheless opted to hand the summer arrival a starting role in the biggest match of the early Eredivisie season. Speaking to De Telegraaf afterwards, the PSV coach explained why he had no concerns about putting Geertruida straight into such a demanding fixture.
“I thought he played well. You can ask yourself whether you should give him his first chance to play in a top match, but of course he is a boy with experience, who has already played this kind of match before”, says Bosz, as quoted by PSV Inside.
The PSV manager also highlighted the defensive demands placed on the Netherlands international. Bosz had wanted Geertruida to spend several weeks studying PSV's defensive system, which differs considerably from the approach used by other Dutch clubs.
“I did think that he should take a few weeks to watch how we defend, because that's different from every other team in the Netherlands. We defend completely.”
Against Ajax, Geertruida was given a specific assignment: stick close to Julian Brandt, whom Bosz regarded as Ajax's outstanding player.
“So this time, he had to fully mark Julian Brandt, whom I thought was the best Ajax player. And that's not easy. I think Lutsharel really did that well.”
His contribution was not limited to defensive work. Bosz was equally pleased with Geertruida's ability in possession and the quality he offered when PSV had the ball.
“And in possession, he was an absolute asset. We already knew that. He's really a good footballer.”
The evening became even more memorable when Geertruida found the net on his full debut. Bosz was also impressed by the defender's ability to maintain his performance deep into the match.
“Besides, he also scores a great goal and he managed to keep it up for a long time”, said the coach.
While Geertruida's display provided a positive talking point for PSV, the match was overshadowed afterwards by Ruben van Bommel's challenge on Ajax defender Aaron Bouwman.
Van Bommel was shown a yellow card by referee Sander van der Eijk, but several analysts argued that the PSV winger should have been sent off.
Noa Vahle criticised Bosz's response to the incident on De Oranjezondag, although she acknowledged the coach's instinct to defend his player.
“If, as a coach, you take it a bit up for your player, I understand that. It was not the intention; I understand very well that he says that. You can also start with: come on, this should have just been a red card,” said Vahle, as quoted by PSV Inside.
Former Netherlands midfielder Theo Janssen went further, describing the challenge as a clear sending-off offence.
“This is simply a reckless act and it is clearly a one hundred percent red card,” Janssen said.
At the same time, Janssen stressed that he did not believe Van Bommel deliberately intended to seriously injure Bouwman.
“He goes in so recklessly and with so much force. At that moment, his body is the weapon”, the analyst concluded.
