Sven Mijnans’ explanation of PSV’s attacking structure has cast the 4-1 victory over Sparta Rotterdam in a different light, while De Telegraaf also highlighted a striking statistic and questioned Danny Makkelie’s decisions.

PSV Eindhoven’s 4-1 victory over Sparta Rotterdam contained more than Sven Mijnans’ first hat-trick for the club. Several details observed around the match have prompted a closer look at Peter Bosz’s tactical setup, PSV’s repeated habit of falling behind and the refereeing decisions made by Danny Makkelie.

Mijnans was the standout performer after scoring three times, but he dismissed the idea that he had simply played as a conventional striker. His explanation revealed just how fluid PSV’s attacking structure was at the Philips Stadion.

According to a message from De Telegraaf journalist Jeroen Kapteijns on X, Mijnans said after the match:

“PSV’s Sven Mijnans dismisses the suggestion that he, as a striker, scored three times against Sparta. Attacking we played with three tens. Guus on the right, me in the middle and Paul Wanner in the middle. In that role, you have to try to be enormously dynamic and move around a lot. I quite liked that.”

The comments underline the freedom Bosz gave his attacking midfielders. Rather than relying on a fixed striker structure, PSV used Mijnans, Guus Til and Paul Wanner in highly mobile roles, allowing them to interchange and move into different areas of the pitch.

That flexibility was particularly evident in Mijnans’ performance, with the midfielder repeatedly arriving in dangerous positions and ultimately finding the net three times.

Another statistic highlighted by Kapteijns paints a revealing picture of PSV’s start to the season.

“A bizarre statistic: against Sparta it was already the sixth time in eight matches this season that PSV fell behind,” the PSV watcher wrote.

Only against Ajax and Excelsior had PSV avoided conceding the opening goal in those eight matches.

The champions have shown a notable ability to recover when put under pressure. They overturned deficits against FC Groningen, winning 5-1, FC Utrecht, winning 6-1, and Sparta, winning 4-1.

However, there have also been occasions when the comeback never arrived. PSV drew 2-2 with Fortuna Sittard and 1-1 with Shakhtar Donetsk, while AZ inflicted a heavy 4-0 defeat at the Philips Stadion.

The pattern gives greater context to Bosz’s team's strong results while also highlighting an issue that has repeatedly surfaced early in matches.

The refereeing performance of Danny Makkelie provided another talking point.

De Telegraaf also took aim at the experienced referee, with the report recalling Valentijn Driessen’s previous description of Makkelie as a “pleaser”, as relayed by PSV Inside. The criticism particularly centred on incidents inside Sparta’s penalty area.

One incident involved Nick Verschuren twice appearing to use a holding technique on Armando Obispo during corners. Kapteijns questioned why neither situation resulted in a penalty.

“Nick Verschuren twice resorts to judo moves on Armando Obispo at corners with some kind of hold. Makkelie thinks it’s all fine.”

The comparison was then drawn with the penalty awarded to Wout Weghorst for a similar pushing-and-pulling situation during another Eredivisie match against Telstar.

Kapteijns questioned the consistency of such decisions, writing:

“The mystery is why last time Weghorst against Telstar suddenly got a penalty for some pushing and pulling, where he himself blatantly held onto his opponent and pulled him down with him. Total arbitrariness when it comes to that.”

PSV ultimately had too much for Sparta, recovering from Milan Zonneveld’s early opener before Mijnans, Kodai Sano and Mijnans again turned the match decisively in their favour.

But beyond the 4-1 scoreline, the match offered plenty for Bosz and PSV to assess: a highly fluid attacking system, another recovery from an early setback and renewed questions over consistency in the Eredivisie’s penalty areas.