Greg . 1 day ago

Eredivisie Team of the Week: Mauro Jr excels, NAC and NEC dominate top XI

Two rounds down, thirty-two to go.

The second round of the 2025/26 Eredivisie season brought surprises, many goals, and many highlights, provided mainly by these eleven stars.

GK: Jari De Busser (Go Ahead Eagles) - 8.

2After an offensively poor game against Telstar, Ajax turned it up a notch against Go Ahead Eagles.

The Amsterdam giants still weren't successful, however.

And that's largely down to Jari De Busser's solid goalkeeping.

The Belgian stopper made nine saves - the most of any goalkeeper in the Eredivisie this past weekend - and prevented a total xG of 0.

60.

De Busser was crucial in winning Go Ahead Eagles their second point of the season.

DEF: Mauro Jr.

(PSV) - 9.

6 (PotW)PSV barely got into trouble in the traditionally tricky away game at FC Twente, and much of that is down to Mauro Jr.

's performance at the left-back position.

The Brazilian, who extended his contract at the end of last season, provided the assist to Jerdy Schouten's 2-0 and was dominant in his duels, winning nine of 13 duels in the air and on the ground.

Mauro finalised 12 of his 14 passes in the final third, 37 of 43 total passes, finalised four of his six attempted dribbles, created three chances from underway play, and had the second-most touches of all players (82).

Mauro's overall performance earns him his first Player of the Week award of the season, and PSV's second after Joey Veerman's performance in round 1.

DEF: Philippe Sandler (NEC) - 8.

8The first NEC player we talk about is centre-half Philippe Sandler, who was vital to his side's 4-1 win over Heracles Almelo.

Sandler, who left Manchester City to return to the Netherlands in 2022, provided the assist for Bryan Linssen's 1-1 before half-time and gave NEC their first lead of the evening with a strong header in the 68th minute.

Besides the goal contributions, Sandler finalised 96 of 102 total passes, finalised 45 of 48 passes in the final third, won eight of 13 duels, notched six clearances, recorded 120 touches, and finalised both of his dribbles - some game for Sandler.

DEF: Marvin Young (Sparta) - 7.

9Sparta showed maturity following last week's clobbering away at PSV, who beat Sparta 6-1, by beating FC Utrecht 2-1.

Improvements on the defensive side of the ball were instrumental to recovery, and Marvin Young stood up to the test.

Young won every duel he was involved in (4/4 in aerial duels, 3/3 in ground duels) and won all three tackles he attempted against Utrecht.

The youngster also recorded one interception and 13(!) clearances in Sparta's first win of the season.

Sparta's reigning Talent of the Year lived up to his name on Sunday.

This week's top XI from the EredivisieBetopickMID: Basar Onal (NEC) - 8.

4Turkish-Dutch youngster Basar Onal did not get involved in any of NEC's four goals, but was a thorn in his opponent's eye all night long in Almelo.

Onal created the second-most chances of any player with four total chances, won more duels than anyone else on the pitch (10), finalised 16 of 18 passes in the final third, recorded an xA of 0.

64, and won both of his tackles.

He didn't stuff the stat sheet, but was very active nonetheless.

MID: Lewis Holtby (NAC) - 8.

6It was love at first sight for the NAC Breda faithful and Lewis Holtby, who shone in NAC's 2-1 win over Fortuna Sittard.

The former Tottenham Hotspur and Germany talent debuted for NAC against Fortuna and opened his account for the club 23 minutes into his first appearance, capping off a nicely flowing attack with a powerful effort from up close.

Holtby then found Juho Talvitie before the Finn scored a fabulous 2-0.

The German midfield general finalised 24 of his 27 passes in the 70 minutes he played, recorded 35 touches, conceded two fouls, and was vital in NAC's defensive organisation, which fell apart after the German was subbed off.

But NAC won, and it only took seventy minutes for the fans from Breda to fall in love with Lewis Holtby.

MID: Jens Toornstra (Sparta) - 8.

1Besides Marvin Young, the experienced Jens Toornstra played a pivotal role in Sparta's first win of the season.

The former Feyenoord midfielder got 54 minutes of playing time against FC Utrecht and made it count.

Toornstra recorded 53 touches, finalised all four of his long passes, finalised 10 of his 12 passes in the final third, four interceptions, five clearances, and two won tackles in Sparta's 2-1 win - a true do-it-all performance from the 36-year-old.

MID: Sem Steijn (Feyenoord) - 8.

0Feyenoord captain Sem Steijn continued his hot start to the season by scoring his second goal in as many games, but his Player of the Match performance comprised much more than that one goal.

Steijn was his usual active self in the attacking front with four goal attempts, six touches in the opposition's box, and seven finalised passes in the final third, but stepped it up in the playmaking sense with two created big chances.

Feyenoord continued their hot start to the season, and Steijn's presence has only helped the Rotterdam side tremendously.

FW: Mohamed Nassoh (NAC) - 8.

0Mohamed Nassoh, like Basar Onal, had no goal contribution to his name, but was a problem for Fortuna defenders.

The Moroccan winger created three chances (more than any other player), won the second-most duels (7), won all three of his tackles, intercepted two balls, and conceded two fouls against Fortuna.

Nassoh was the problem on the left that allowed Talvitie to excel on the right.

FW: Kento Shiogai (NEC) - 8.

8Kento Shiogai only got 22 minutes to wow the Asito Stadium, and the Japanese winger did exactly that.

Shiogai missed last week's season opener against Excelsior - a dominant 5-0 win - and was eased back into playing by manager Dick Schreuder.

The Japanese starlet rewarded his manager's faith by grabbing a brace in the away game, continuing his steady improvement after scoring his first four NEC goals in the second half of last season.

FW: Juho Talvitie (NAC) - 8.

6Juho Talvitie was our Player of the Match in NAC's 2-1 win over Fortuna Sittard, and for good reason.

The Finnish winger curled in a beautiful winner as part of his stellar performance.

Talvitie created two big chances, won seven of 15 duels, won two tackles, finalised four of six crosses, took three shots, and finalised 17 of 21 total passes against Fortuna.

A major impact in NAC's first Eredivisie win since January.