Does Dest watch game tape? Talent isn’t the issue. But he makes really poor reads at times as if he doesn’t study the opposition at all. So much of being a defender is reading, positioning. It’s intelligence.
Dest was far from perfect or even good defensively today, particularly in the first half. But it was always going to be a pretty big ask for him to contribute so heavily in the attack and also defend so much against a team like Arsenal IMO. He was also one of the few players on PSV that looked like he could handle the Arsenal pressure and the speed of the game when the ball was at his feet. The good news is that Dest is in a place now where he doesn't have to worry about being labeled as the scapegoat, or getting relegated to the bench after a comprehensive team drubbing like he was part of today. That would have surely been the case at his two previous clubs.
In the Netherlands the role of the fullback is an attacking one. Specially in the top clubs, when playing the rest of the league. That's why for Dest the real test is playing the other big clubs in the league, everything else can be forgiven, after all the CBs didn't look particularly good either. And before the Dutch come here to tell me the Netherlands has produced some of the best defenders ever, my point is not that the defenders are poor, but that in the Netherlands the coaches play defense as an afterthought. That's why guys like Altidore and Pepi can score at will there but not somewhere else. Today that was evident against Arsenal, a team used to playing much higher caliber defending. They could have scored four more if they wanted.
Dest sucks at defense on the left side. Also, that whole team looked awful. Like they didn't show up.
Dest was matched up with one of the best wingers in the world, backed up by center backs who are the weakest spot on his team, and a squad who were weaker than the opposition at every spot on the field. Yes, he didn't stop Saka. Their center backs were again bad, and they badly lost the midfield battle. I attribute this to Arsenal being a better football team. I'd argue that Dest had the best match of anyone on PSV's defense, which is, to be fair, a low bar in a 4-0 loss. Meanwhile, he and Lang were quite good going forward, while no one else was. Except for Pepi's late perfection, I mean.
PSV was just thuroughly outclassed. Their passing was poor, defense obviously bad. Dest had some dribbles up the left to move the ball forward, but they all had clay feet. Very poor out of PSV all around.
I agree that his team was thoroughly beaten. However, he didn't have any individual WTF moments that stuck out. We all know his defending can improve but he didn't suck yesterday.
I agree. Didn't really mean for it to be an excuse. He had a shot to change his doubters' opinion. And like the rest of his team, he didn't show up.
Poor Dest has become something of an afterthought, with Pepi (and even sleepyhead Tillman) sucking up most of our PSV attention. Looking at Saturday's scoresheet, Dest started at right back and played 83', departing with the score safely 0-3 in PSV's favor. Setting aside the team's poor CL showing at Arsenal last week, PSV have started league play with five straight wins - joint first with AZ Alkmaar. Four games now come in quick succession before the international break ... Today v Go Ahead Eagles (6th) Saturday v FC Volendam (17th) Tuesday v Sevilla (CL Matchday 2) Sunday Oct 8 @ Sparta Rotterdam (currently 5th, but have played an extra game)
Sergino Dest will be unavailable for PSV’s match against Go Ahead Eagles due to illness (flu). [🌕: @RikElfrink] pic.twitter.com/ebt7qzwvWz— USMNT Otaku 🇺🇸 (@USMNTOtaku) September 27, 2023
I've always found Go Ahead Eagles one of the most ridiculous names in first division football, up there with Manly United.
Also most team's names aren't in English in countries where English isn't the primary language. Go Ahead's orginal name was ... Be Quick - also starting with a verb, and also in English.