United States forward Ricardo Pepi continued his excellent run of form with a goal that helped PSV Eindhoven beat Utrecht 2-1 on Sunday.
Pepi scored the equaliser for his side to bring his scoring run to four consecutive Eredivisie matches — and furthered his case to start for the USMNT at the World Cup next summer.
PSV found themselves behind in the first half, with hosts Utrecht taking the lead through Mike van der Hoorn. The centre-back got on the end of a pinpoint cross from Siebe Horemans to nod home. While the linesman’s flag was initially raised, a VAR review found van der Hoorn to be onside.
The visitors came out fighting in the second half, and it was the U.S. duo of Sergiño Dest and Pepi who linked up cleverly for the equaliser. Dest got the ball in space on the right of the penalty area, and rolled it with pace — beating two defenders — into the six-yard box to Pepi, who finished first time in the bottom left corner.
Ivan Perišić delivered the winner for PSV 15 minutes before time, finishing off a perfectly executed corner routine. Joey Veerman whipped the ball to the near post, where the Croatian winger had timed his run, allowing him to head past the keeper on his side.
Pepi and Eindhoven’s win extended their lead at the top of the table to 12 points by full time. It was their 15th league win of the season, having only dropped points in two matches.
