PSV Eindhoven have come into the 2011-12 Eredivisie season as title favorites, but that status took a massive hit on Sunday as they were completely outplayed by AZ Alkmaar, who earned a very well-deserved 3-1 victory at home. PSV’s finishing and defending, as a whole, was poor, and manager Fred Rutten will have plenty of harsh questions to answer from the media regarding his team selection.
AZ Alkmaar Vs. PSV Eindhoven: Full Time, Jozy Altidore Scores On Debut As AZ Win 3-1
AZ got off to a fantastic start, taking a 2-0 lead in the first half thanks to a couple of fantastic goals. Maarten Martens stunned the hosts in the 26th minute with his opening goal, and Nick Viergever doubled AZ’s lead in the 40th minute with an absolute rocket of a strike from 35 yards out. It appeared as if AZ would be walking into the locker room with a comfortable 2-0 lead, but Dries Martens got PSV back into the game with a brilliant strike in first half stoppage time.
Surprisingly, that goal provided PSV with little to no momentum. They were second best throughout the second half and the game was completely put to rest in the 80th minute when substitute Jozy Altidore scored with a header on his debut, assisted by 17-year-old Adam Maher. A Niklas Moisander red card two minutes later looked like it might complicate matters for PSV, but they remained the better side with 10 men and coasted to a comfortable 3-1 victory.
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