"It sounds daft, but I underestimated my move to PSV" — Mijnans opens up after 7-0 rout

PSV's 7-0 win over Willem II will be remembered for one number that is not on the scoreboard: all seven goals were scored by seven different players. Sven Mijnans added a goal and an assist to that rout, but the more revealing part of his post-match interview had nothing to do with the finishing. It was about the two-month settling period he had not anticipated when he moved to PSV in the summer — and about the Champions League fixture against Club Brugge that now sits directly in front of him.

Seven different scorers: the strongest signal of squad depth

Scoring seven goals in a match is impressive. Having seven different scorers is more impressive still. It points to an attack that does not funnel everything through one focal striker. The goals arrived from wide areas, from full-back delivery and from second-line runners arriving in the box. When an opponent double-marks the No.9, the attack does not collapse, because the threat comes from several directions at once.

Mijnans himself noted that the substitutes brought extra energy when they came on. Over a 34-game league season, that is the detail that decides titles. Teams that win marathons usually do it on bench depth rather than on one superstar, and a scoresheet with seven different names is the paperwork for exactly that.

One honest limitation has to be flagged. A 7-0 does not prove the underlying attacking process is strong; it proves that against a badly overmatched opponent, the goals went in. No expected-goals figures, no possession stats and no pass-completion numbers accompanied this match. Concluding that the system is elite would be premature.

The goal: arriving late in the box

Mijnans' goal was a textbook example of what a modern midfielder is asked to do. Sergiño Dest delivered the cross — a full-back, which is the zone PSV's attacking structure appears to lean on most heavily. Mijnans struck it first time, and the ball went in off the underside of the crossbar.

By his own account, the ball came to him “a bit through the middle” and he redirected it with the inside of his foot into the far corner. The interesting detail is that the ball did not fall for him perfectly — his body shape was not ideal at the moment of contact. Striking it first time off the bar from that position is not luck; it is technique.

This was not a static No.10's goal. It was a late-arriving midfielder's goal: a third-man run into the penalty area, with the position taken before the ball arrived. Goals like that come from habit more than from chance. Whether the habit is fully established in Mijnans' game cannot be judged from one finish, but the signal is clear.

The real story: the two-month delay

What Mijnans said afterwards is the most valuable part of the interview. He admitted it took a number of weeks — perhaps even two months — before he genuinely felt good, and that he had underestimated the move at the start.

“It sounds daft, but I underestimated it a little. I thought it would happen quickly, and it didn't.”

This is not unusual — for summer signings it is almost the rule. Yet it is routinely underweighted. Clubs budget for the adaptation curve; media and supporters often deliver a verdict inside the first month. At a club expected to win every week, two months of settling can easily earn a player a ‘flop’ label.

So Mijnans' goal and assist should not be read as a raw tally. If his effective start date is roughly two months after his signing date, his early-season numbers were produced on a partial-minutes baseline. That cuts both ways: overrating the output is a mistake, and so is underrating what it means per minute played.

Family, a young child and relocation: the cause that never shows on a scoresheet

Mijnans was open about one cause of the slow start — settling into a new city and organising family life with a young child. This is regularly ignored in football analysis and regularly decisive in practice.

Clubs that under-resource relocation and family support systematically mis-price the first half of the season for imported players. This is a process finding, not a player-quality finding. Mijnans' account points exactly there: the problem was off the pitch, and it took time to solve.

He also mentioned having “some good conversations about finding my place”. That is not a small thing. It implies an active player-care and coaching channel at PSV that explains a new signing's role to him. It is a soft asset with real retention value.

1-0 against Porto, and now Club Brugge

Two results surface in the interview: the 7-0 against Willem II and a 1-0 Champions League win over Porto. Read together, they show two different faces of the same team — a flood of goals against an overmatched opponent, and a narrow win in a peer-level contest. Two matches is far too small a sample for any trend, but it does suggest a side capable of finding ways to win in different game states.

The next test comes on Wednesday against Club Brugge. Mijnans called them “a really good team this year” — a rare candid acknowledgement of an opponent's quality in an otherwise upbeat interview.

That fixture also poses the biggest question around PSV. A heavy domestic win followed by a poor European result rapidly rewrites the narrative about domestic dominance. What happens against Brugge will say more about PSV's true level than 7-0 did.

Waiting for a first home Champions League start

Mijnans added one line that says a great deal about his standing: he has not yet started a home Champions League match. That sounds minor, but as a hierarchy marker it is not. If accurate, he currently sits in the second tier of the attacking order — a rotation option used more domestically and selectively in Europe.

Against that backdrop, his goal and assist carry more weight, because they came in limited minutes. If he starts against Brugge, it will be a clear signal that the coaching staff now trust him as more than a rotation piece. If he is on the bench, his domestic output notwithstanding, his place is not yet secure.

What to watch

For now the pressure on Mijnans is low: a new signing is contributing and describes himself as settled. That is the honeymoon phase. The real test arrives with the first barren run without a goal or an assist, when it becomes clear how durable a confidence built after a two-month delay really is.

At team level, one thing is plain — PSV's competitive edge is squad depth, not dependence on a single name. Seven different scorers and an impactful bench are the evidence. But depth is tested at home against weak blocks far less than it is tested away against a peer like Brugge.

One caveat is necessary. No transfer fee, contract length or wage information has been disclosed in this material, so calling the deal cheap or expensive would be guesswork. What can be said with confidence is this: Mijnans' real season begins now — not on his signing date, but from the moment he started feeling part of this team.