Ligue 1 had very little taste of it, the Eredivisie now appreciates it weekend after weekend. And for good reason. Since the resumption of the Dutch championship, the talent of Xavi Simons has amazed the spans of the Philips Stadion and impressed the competition. His new double in PSV’s big victory against FC Volendam (7-1) is also proof of a thunderous start to the season achieved by the great hope of Dutch football. Far from the French capital where he had played only nine matches in all competitions last season and only 129 short minutes of play in L1, the Batave treats.
Fourth with twelve units, PSV, which is only one point behind Feyenoord Rotterdam and AZ Alkmaar, relies, in fact, on the qualities of its young talent of 19 years. Orchestrator of a 4-3-3 which had shown all its qualities against AS Monaco during the Champions League play-offs, Ruud Van Nistelrooy does not hesitate to use Simons’ versatility on the front of the attack. Results ? The child from Amsterdam plays and splashes the championship with his class and his composure in front of goal. Attacking midfielder during the first two days, the former Parisian was then entrusted with the responsibility of animating the right lane of the Boeren before starting at the peak during the last two meetings. And no matter the position, Simons has fun.
Historical statistics and the first trophies…
After five days spent in the elite of Dutch football, the number 7 of PSV has 6 goals and 2 assists. Xavi Simons has even already filled his trophy cabinet by winning the Dutch Supercup after a spectacular match against Ajax (5-3). A game where he also found the net after coming into play in the 73rd minute. A fanfare debut which also allows him to enter the history of the Eredivisie since no player before him had displayed, during the 21st century, such statistics at the start of the exercise. Rewarded with a first individual distinction and a title of player of the month for August in the Netherlands, the player trained at La Masia has already established himself as an essential part of the collective of Ruud Van Nistelrooy, despite the defeat conceded, this weekend, on the lawn of Twente (1-2). Enough to confirm his words when he arrived at PSV.
“Lionel Messi, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe? I trained with them every day for two years, I learned a lot from them, but in the end the matches are also important. I just turned 19, so I think I should now take this step to progress.assured, in this sense, Simons, recently hailed for his coach despite the elimination conceded against Glasgow Rangers in C1. “I saw wonderful sequences. Everyone expects him to make the difference with the ball. He can do it with his technique and he has the qualities to choose the right area. But we also saw that he is very fast in duels. […] When Xavi loses the ball, he switches very quickly. He has fantastic qualities. He knows what he wants. He has already lived twice abroad and he stored this experience with him. For his age, he is already above”van Nistelrooy told Voetbal International.
A great architect of PSV’s attractive start to the season, Xavi Simons will now be able to prove his full potential on the European scene. Placed alongside Arsenal, FC Zürich and Bodo Glimt in group A of the Europa League, the Rood-witten are preparing, in fact, to cross swords with the Norwegians on behalf of the first day of this group stage. The opportunity for the Dutch U19 international to mark the spirits a little more and to strengthen his starting position despite the strong competition embodied by Guus Til, Cody Gakpo, Noni Madueke (currently injured), Ismael Saibari or even Johan Bakayoko.
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— PSV (@PSV) July 31, 2022
