HighlightsESPN NLYouTubeMatch Events
play_arrow4 clips- -5′Ajax, yellow card:Unallowed field entering
- -5′PSV Eindhoven, yellow card:Unallowed field entering
- -5′PSV Eindhoven, yellow card:Argument
- 5′PSV Eindhoven, goal:0–1assist
- 16′PSV Eindhoven, yellow card:Foul
- 23′Ajax, goal:1–1
- 37′PSV Eindhoven, yellow card:Foul
- 45′PSV Eindhoven, goal:1–2
- Half-time1 – 2
- 46′PSV Eindhoven, substitution:off
- 54′Ajax, substitution:off
- 54′Ajax, substitution:off
- 61′Ajax, substitution:off
- 61′Ajax, substitution:off
- 63′PSV Eindhoven, substitution:off
- 63′PSV Eindhoven, substitution:off
- 73′PSV Eindhoven, substitution:off
- 73′Ajax, substitution:off
- 73′PSV Eindhoven, substitution:off
- 74′PSV Eindhoven, yellow card:Foul
- 81′Ajax, yellow card:Argument
- 81′PSV Eindhoven, yellow card:Foul
- 84′Ajax, substitution:off
- 88′PSV Eindhoven, substitution:off
- 90′PSV Eindhoven, goal:1–3assist
- 90+6′Ajax, yellow card:Foul
- Full-time1 – 3
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Ajax
PSV Eindhoven
Match report
PSV Eindhoven come from behind to sink Ajax at Johan Cruijff Arena
PSV Eindhoven beat Ajax 3-1 at Johan Cruijff Arena in matchday five of the Eredivisie, with second-half additions confirming an away win that stretched their unbeaten start. Ricardo Pepi struck early to give the visitors the lead, but Ajax responded before the break through Toluwalase Arokodare.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data.
Pepi's fifth-minute finish, assisted by Ruben van Bommel, put PSV ahead inside the opening exchanges. Ajax hit back on 23 minutes when Arokodare levelled at 1-1, giving the home crowd hope of a foothold in the contest. That optimism was undone just before half-time, as Lutsharel Geertruida restored PSV's advantage in first-half stoppage time to make it 1-2 at the interval.
Ajax could not find a way back after the break, and PSV made the game safe deep into stoppage time when Esmir Bajraktarevic, teed up by Sven Mijnans, scored the third in the 90+2nd minute to complete the 3-1 victory. Ajax finished with more of the ball but could not convert their share of possession into a leveller, while PSV's discipline in the closing stages proved decisive.
Pepi got PSV's win under way with an early goal and finished with a rating of 7.84, the highest of any player on the pitch.
Ajax committed far fewer fouls than PSV, six to thirteen, yet it was the away side who picked up the win.
PSV Eindhoven won 3–1 away against Ajax (half-time 1–2).
Ajax met PSV Eindhoven in the Eredivisie (Regular Season - 5). Kick-off was Saturday, 5 September 2026, 18:00 UTC at Johan Cruijff Arena. Referee: Sander van der Eijk.
Team pages: Ajax · PSV Eindhoven · Eredivisie
Key moments
- 5' Goal: Ricardo Pepi (assist: Ruben van Bommel) — 0–1 · Watch Ricardo Pepi's goal video (5')
- 23' Goal: Tolu Arokodare — 1–1 · Watch Tolu Arokodare's goal video (23')
- 45' Goal: Lutsharel Geertruida — 1–2 · Watch Lutsharel Geertruida's goal video (45')
- 90' Goal: Esmir Bajraktarevic (assist: Sven Mijnans) — 1–3 · Watch Esmir Bajraktarevic's goal video (90')
Starting line-ups
Ajax (4-3-3)
PSV Eindhoven (4-2-3-1)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave Ajax 33%, the draw 28%, PSV Eindhoven 39%. It finished Ajax 1–3 PSV Eindhoven.
PSV Eindhoven's rating edge outweighs Ajax's home ground — PSV Eindhoven are the stronger side on our strength rating, and the early-season home fade on top gives PSV Eindhoven the lean. The draw at 28% is about what a gap this size usually leaves.
Why PSV Eindhoven at 39%?
PSV Eindhoven sit 135 points higher on our strength rating — 1807 to 1943. Sides with a 100–200-point rating edge on the road won 40.1% of 13,132 such games. Both sides are inside their first six league games — home wins land softer this early in the season, so this trims Ajax's column. Across 10,911 opening-stretch games since 2010, home sides won 42.8% where the rating map expected 44.9%, with draws up 2.0 — negative in every season since 2018. The 300 most similar past games finished 30–32–38.
Why only 39%?
Ajax hold 5 more possession points (64 to 59 in recent games) across a 135-point rating gap. Control now carries a receipt beyond near-equals too: sides with this control edge at a 75–150-point rating gap won 42.6% of 8,650 such games where the class table expected 41.3%.
Why the draw at 28%?
With a rating gap this size the draw starts at 27.2%. These teams' recent games average 4.5 goals — a high-scoring environment. Games in that environment drew 22.8% of 17,073. The goals environment takes 2.3 points off the draw. Early-season fixtures add 2.0 points to the draw.
What did we measure but not count?
PSV Eindhoven scored +0.99 goals per game beyond chance-quality lately — hot streaks like that have cooled off. Measured across 2,827 games at this rating gap, hot-finishing sides won 42.1% vs 42.9% class-expected — inside the noise band, so it scores 0 until the receipt clears its evidence bar. Ajax come into this after a busy window — 25 arrivals and 36 departures over the summer. Squad turnover reads dramatic but hasn't moved results once the rating is controlled: the busiest windows landed within noise across 5,368 games, rebuilt elevens likewise across 5,446, and even losing the most regular starters showed nothing (5,336). The other measured facts on this page scored nothing either.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the Ajax vs PSV Eindhoven final score and result, goal highlights and video clips of every goal, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this Eredivisie fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
- Watch Ricardo Pepi's goal against Ajax (5').
- Watch Tolu Arokodare's goal against PSV Eindhoven (23').
- Watch Lutsharel Geertruida's goal against Ajax (45').
- Watch Esmir Bajraktarevic's goal against Ajax (90').
Watch the goals: goal highlights and video clips of every goal from Ajax 1–3 PSV Eindhoven. Explore more on the Ajax and PSV Eindhoven team pages or the Eredivisie page.