PSV and AZ level on points in Eredivisie chase
PSV and AZ both sit on 19 points after 8 games, separated only by goal difference, with Feyenoord two clear at the top on 20.
Last played
AZ 0–2 FC Twente '65
Two teams, identical records, one place apart. PSV are second in the Eredivisie table on 19 points, and AZ are third on the same 19. The gap between them is 0.
The tiebreaker is goals. PSV have scored 26 and conceded 10, a difference of 16. AZ have scored 18 and conceded 8, a difference of 10. Both have won 6 of their 8 matches, drawn 1 and lost 1.
What separates them, then, is shape rather than results. AZ have conceded fewer goals, 8 against 10, and their home record is the meaner of the two: 8 wins, 5 draws and a single defeat. PSV have been more expansive at home, with 10 wins and 2 draws, and they carry the heavier away haul, 9 victories on the road against 5.
Form leans one way. PSV have won four of their last five, the sequence reading W, W, W, L, W, and they arrive on a run of 1W. AZ have the same count of wins across that span but a draw and a defeat mixed in, and they are coming off 1L.
Above both sits Feyenoord, first on 20 points with a goal difference of +20. Below them, Twente hold fourth on 17 and Ajax fifth on 15. The margin at the top is two points. The margin between second and third is nothing at all.
So who actually holds the stronger claim? Goal difference says PSV. Defensive numbers say AZ. The table says neither.
Both clubs return to league action on Friday 16 October, the same day the division resumes.