After being eliminated from the UEFA Champions League in emphatic fashion by Arsenal, Peter Bosz's men got a boost by getting former FC Barcelona and Ajax full-back Sergino Dest back from a lengthy injury. Dest tore his ACL in April 2024 but made his return to the starting side in Waalwijk.
It wouldn't take PSV long to punish RKC, scoring just four minutes after kick-off thanks to former World Cup finalist Ivan Perisic. Joey Veerman intercepted the ball in midfield before letting striker Luuk de Jong put the two-footed Perisic in prime position to beat stopper Jeroen Houwen with a precise strike towards the near post.
Perisic would later set up the 2-0, popping up on the left side of the pitch to give Noa Lang the ball. The Dutch international would follow Perisic's example and fire the ball towards Houwen's near post, leaving the goalkeeper hopeless with a fast strike.
PSV would close out the game when Joey Veerman crossed the ball into RKC's penalty area, giving Luuk de Jong a chance he would not squander as one of Europe's premier headers.
Their win in Waalwijk would be PSV's first outside of Eindhoven since December 1st, 2024 when FC Utrecht got beaten 5-2. Four winless away games later, the reigning champions would book a pivotal win in the race for the title, at least temporarily narrowing the gap to Ajax to 5 points before their tricky home game against AZ.
Utrecht give NEC big boost
Earlier on Saturday night, NEC would give themselves a massive boost after beating third-placed FC Utrecht 1-0 in Stadion Galgenwaard.
An eventful game in Utrecht was decided just eight minutes before full-time when Vito van Crooij converted from the spot caused by American international Paxten Aaronson.
The visitors later thanked Robin Roefs for the win when the youth international skillfully parried a Sebastien Haller in the match's final minutes.
NEC had not won in the Eredivisie since January 19th, going seven games without a win and falling into the relegation battle. However, with the win, NEC jumped up to 11th and is now five points clear of the relegation zone.
Elsewhere, Sparta Rotterdam and PEC Zwolle shared the points in Rotterdam with a 1-1 draw. Defender Olivier Aertssen put the visitors in front in the 48th minute after intercepting the ball in midfield and marching all the way up to Nick Olij's goal.
However, the away crowd couldn't enjoy the lead for much longer, as Tobias Lauritsen equalised just two minutes later. The Norwegian striker would put the final score on the board with his peculiar goal from a rainbow cross from Mitchell van Bergen.
To cap off the Saturday slate of games, Heerenveen and Heracles attempted to rebound from last week's losses but came to a stalemate in the country's North with a 1-1 draw.
Jizz Hornkamp opened the scoring after eighteen minutes thanks to former Dutch international Andries Noppert mishandling his low-driven shot. Marcus Linday would pull Heerenveen alongside on the cusp of half-time.