After being at the front of the pack for most of the season, Atiba Hutchinson and PSV Eindhoven are going to have to make do as runners up in the Dutch Eredivisie.
PSV won their third game in a row on Sunday with a 4-2 result over NEC, but with just one game left in the season, there’s no time to claw back Ajax’s four-point advantage. The Amsterdam giants won the league with a 5-0 win over Willem II.
Hutchinson is out of contract at the end of the season and has expressed a desire to play in England in the past.
In Germany, it was an opportunity missed for Marcel de Jong and Augsburg, who had a chance to escape the prospect of a playoff to avoid relegation.
Currently tied with Fortuna Dusseldorf with 30 points in the Bundesliga, Augsburg missed a chance to move into 15th place all alone. Dusseldorf lost earlier in the weekend but de Jong & Co. then dropped a 2-0 game to Freiburg on Sunday with the Toronto native lasting the full 90 minutes. The two teams remain tied with two games left in the season with Dusseldorf holding the advantage on goal difference.
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As Augsburg are trying to avoid the relegation playoff, Kevin McKenna and FC Köln are trying to sneak into that same game from the 2.Bundesliga, but it’s looking much more remote this week. They slipped four points behind Kaiserslautern and the playoff spot with a 2-1 loss to Bochum this past Saturday. With two games left in the season, Köln need to take maximum points from those games and hope Kaiserslautern slip up in both of their remaining games.
Rob Friend’s 1860 Munich will also finish just outside the promotion spots, but the striker is getting plenty of playing time after falling off the national team radar. Friend played the full 90 minutes on Sunday as sixth-place 1860 beat Union Berlin 3-0.
With Jahn Regensburg relegated to the 3.Liga for next season, it’s a safe bet Julian de Guzman will likely be on the move again. The former Toronto FC and FC Dallas man played the full game last Friday as Regensburg lost for the 21st time in 32 games this season in a 2-1 defeat to Aalen.
In England, a tough season for Simeon Jackson edges closer to completion. Norwich City’s place in the Premier League for next season is still in the balance as they’re still in relegation danger. But even if they do survive, Jackson’s future with the club looks in doubt as he’s seen very little playing time. Jackson made a rare appearance on Saturday, coming on late in second-half stoppage time in Norwich’s 2-1 loss to Aston Villa.
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In Scotland, defender Andre Hainault was given the chance to perform against champions Celtic on Sunday and fared rather well for Ross County as they played the Glasgow powerhouse to a 1-1 draw.
In Turkey, goalkeeper Milan Borjan and Sivasspor had a disappointing showing before Wednesday’s all-important Turkish Cup semifinal second leg. Borjan was in goal as Sivasspor lost 4-2 to Galatasaray. The loss pushed Sivasspor down to 13th place in the Süper Lig, just four points ahead of the relegation zone with two games remaining in the season. Before that, however, Sivasspor plays Trabzonspor on Wednesday with Borjan & Co. holding a 2-1 lead from the first leg.
In Portugal, Pedro Pacheco played all 90 minutes on Sunday for Santa Clara in their 2-1 win over Penafiel. Santa Clara are in eighth place in the Liga de Honra.
In Norway, Tosaint Ricketts is still looking for his first goal of the season as he started and played the first half in Sadnes Ulf’s 2-1 loss to Vålerenga.
In Uruguay, Lucas Cavallini started and lasted 63 minutes in Juventud de las Piedras’ 2-2 draw with Liverpool. Juventud are one of four teams tied with 14 points through 11 games.
