Wrapup of the performances of Dutch players on the English Premier League’s 14th matchday.
- By Daniel Gutman
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For the first time this season, every single Dutch player that featured on matchday 14 of the 2014/15 Barclays Premier League season came away with a victory. Erik Pieters, Daryl Janmaat, Robin van Persie, Leandro Bacuna, and Leroy Fer all picked up three points with their respective sides on what surely will be a weekend to remember for these Dutch stars. Tim Krul, Daley Blind, Patrick van Aanholt, and Ron Vlaar missed out due to injury, while Dwight Tiendalli and Vuron Anita were relegated to the bench for their clubs’ games.
Kicking off the weekend’s matches, Janmaat and in-from Newcastle hosted league leaders Chelsea. Despite all signs pointing to a Chelsea win or, if Newcastle were lucky, a draw, the Magpies managed to pull off a huge upset and emerged 2-1 winners despite playing the last 10 minutes with 10 men. Janmaat showcased his defensive class on the right flank as he fought against the left-sided Chelsea players, and Hazard and Azpilicueta were no match for the former Feyenoord man. With a good start to the day, Fer and Pieters (who also played Saturday) did not break the trend of victories for Dutch players. Fer in particular stood out, grabbing the match-winning goal for QPR against Burnley to lift the capitol club out of the relegation zone. Fer ran laps around the Burnley men tasked with marking him while also managing to track back and defend well against the occasional opposition surge. Pieters on the other hand did not contribute much going forward against Arsenal, but he nevertheless turned rookie defender Hector Bellerin inside out with his dribbles. His defensive contribution could’ve been a bit better, but he did accomplish the task of keeping Oxlade Chamberlain fairly subdued.
On Sunday, Aston Villa Dutchman Leandro Bacuna took part in the final 15 minutes of the Villans’ 2-1 victory over Leicester City, but was unable to make much of an impact on the final outcome due to the limited amount of on-field time that was available to the 23-year-old. Wrapping up the matchday, there was an uneasy feeling surrounding Robin van Persie and Manchester United’s trip to overachievers Southampton. the flying Dutchman however put in an inspired performance as he scored both goals in a 2-1 win for the Red Devils to lift the club into third place, eight points off Chelsea and the top spot. For his first van Persie seized an opportunity following Jose Fonte’s abysmally poor back pass to Artur Boruc, while his second came in somewhat of an odd fashion as he bundled the ball home after being virtually unmarked on a United freekick.
A tidy group of performances from the Dutch boys in the Premier League these past three days, one only hopes they will continue in similar fashion going forward.
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