After AZ, Twente and Feyenoord also announce the Premier League

If Coolsingel remains empty again in May because Feyenoord is one point short of the national title, Rotterdam will sometimes think on a cold January afternoon in their Sunday ensheed. Just like facing Ajax last week, Arne Slot’s side failed to land a serious blow to one of the challengers in the title race.

Slot thinks Feyenoord dropped four points in the two main matches, given the picture of the game, but against FC Twente he had a grumpy feeling about it. Reason: Feyenoord were denied a penalty in the final stage. In an aerial duel, Robin Propper hit the ball with an outstretched arm into his own penalty area. But referee Allard Lindhout thought Propper had received a push, but the VAR didn’t think it was necessary to intervene.

Really just further discussion

“Unacceptable,” Slaughter pondered the decision, also because Lindhout had not whistled for a push during the entire match. “With the arrival of VAR, we were hoping it would remove these kinds of fouls from football, but you really only get more discussion.” For Twenty classmate Ron Jans, a former German teacher, the discussion prompted him to give a lesson on the subjunctive. The Germans will say about the penalty kick: This hatte konnt, it could have been. But the condition is about Wirklichkeit’s nieceis not real.”

The penalty controversy was a blemish on a match that was being heralded as the Premier League. Twente coach Ron Jans enjoyed it. “You think, Sunday morning, a quarter past twelve, the alarm has just gone off, the tsar has gone off … But everyone has been awake from the first second.” Slot spoke of an “exciting, slick, high-intensity match”.

The score (1-1) means the tension at the top of the Premier League is still entirely intact. With five teams within six points of each other, the title race is more open than it has been in years. The level of football in the Eredivisie is often below average, but the entertainment value is often high this season, in part because of the unpredictability at the top. This is partly due to the failure of PSV and especially Ajax, but also to the good policy that has been pursued at FC Twente, Feyenoord and AZ in recent years.

You must run a lot

Sticking to its own philosophy, AZ are neatly in second place, two points behind Feyenoord. On Saturday he made a match against FC Utrecht with a score of 5-5. According to Ron Jans, this pot was a “good example” of Premier League football at its best. “I saw there: if you want to be in the Premier League you have to push fast, run a lot and also play good football.”

At Twente, Jans also managed to shape his team according to this idea. The result is that the Tukkers have firmly established themselves in the top five, so Enschede was cautiously dreaming of a new national title. It was occupied already in 2010, then on the basis of financial castles in the air; This time, with a sound policy, a combative and good team was formed.

AZ, Twente and Feyenoord have not invested in expensive players in recent years; And they can’t. Sometimes this also leads to new discoveries. At Feyenoord, Gernot Trauner went down with an injury during the winter break, which looked like an acute problem. But Lutsharel Geertruida also proved against Twente that he is more than a good substitute. Mats Weaver, who was bought from Excelsior for €600,000, was once again strong in midfield. Homegrown Kolindeci Hartmann has proven himself better as a full-back than the Peruvian Lopez who came from America and the already-departed Norwegian Bjorkan.

Prevent fast throwing

Hartmann and Gertruida, among others, confirmed that FC Twente’s forwards could pose little danger on Sunday. Feyenoord was generally a little more dangerous. Both teams play pretty much the same philosophy with early pressing. Sloat praised FC Twente afterward for being more than Ajax last week in Feyenoord’s half and was “smarter” than his side. Jans had seen a lot of the Rotterdam Theatre. He was referring to the affectation after the alleged violations. Goalkeeper Justin Bellew threw a second ball onto the field in the first half to block a quick throw-in. Unsportsmanlike, Slaughter admitted, but it’s a “clever trick”.

Feyenoord led 0-1 for a long time. After more than half an hour, Szymanski reached Santiago Jimenez from the defensive line. The Mexican, who again preferred Danilo, left the goalkeeper Unnerstal without any chance with his header (1-1). The tie fell in almost similar fashion after the break. Michal Sadlic was the manager this time, Joshua Brenet headed Twente to the point he deserved, simply because this game wasn’t worth the loser’s.

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