Erick Gutiérrez and Edson Álvarez started for their teams on matchday 17 of the Eredivisie

Mexican national teammates and club rivals, Erick and Edson, played in the starting lineup of their teams. Both players played an important role in their teams' triumphs. Edson Álvarez played 90 minutes in Ajax win 2-0 against Feyenoord in the “Klassieker” and Erick Gutiérez also played all the match against RKC Waalwijk where PSV Eindhoven won 4-1. 

Both Ajax and PSV are in the fight for the league title. After matchday 17, the farmers have 40 points while ten Hag's team has 39 points. Only one point difference. It is exciting that both players are being an active part of both teams and that they are being a fundamental part of the fight for the championship.

With the 2022 Qatar World Cup coming in less than a year, the participation of both players as important players is key for being call-up by Gerardo “Tata” Martino for the national soccer team. Edson Álvarez earned his place in the starting lineup since last year but Erick Gutierrez has had more problems consolidating his position and it has been until the end of this semester that he has started to be considered by the coach in the starting lineup.

Erick Gutierrez and PSV against RKC Waalwijk

Roger Schmidt, Head Coach of the North Brabant-based team, chose the following lineup for the start of the game: Joël Drommel; Philipp Mwene, André Ramalho, Olivier Boscagli, Mauro Júnior; Erick Gutiérrez, Mario Götze, Ibrahim Sangare; Ritsu Doan, Cody Gakpo, Bruma. Later on, Philipp Max, Jordan Teze, Armando Obispo, Marco van Ginkel, Carlos Vinicius and Yorbe Vertessen came on.

Ritsu Doan and Bruma were replaced by Carlos Vinícius and Yorbe Vertessen, and after the changes, the Belgian opened the scoring in the 34th minute. From that point on, they outplayed their opponents and controlled the pace of the match at will. Yorbe Vertessen scored the first goal, followed by goals from Cody Gakpo and Philipp Mwene, and Vertessen himself made it 4-0. Jens Odgaard scored for the home side late on.

Erick Gutiérrez who is been playing better and better, once again had a good game. According to the numbers provided by SofaScore, he registered: 93 touches, 74 correct passes out of 81 attempts (91% effectiveness), 3 shots, 5 duels won out of a possible 8, 7 turnovers, and 1 interception.

Edson Álvarez and Ajax against Feyenoord

Ajax won the "De Klassieker" by defeating their rivals Feyenoord with an own goal caused by Dušan Tadić and a goal of his own near the end of the match.

The teams came out with a similar approach, and in the first few minutes, both had a chance to take the lead; however, their attempts were unsuccessful.

In the 12th minute, the first yellow card of the match was issued to Bryan Linssen, who was the first to receive a warning card. Three minutes later, Ryan Gravenberch was the first of the Amsterdam team to receive a yellow card.

In the 17th minute, Lisandro Martínez left the field due to injury to make way for Nicolás Tagliafico.

It wasn't until the 43rd minute that the net was opened, Marcos Senesi scored an own goal after a dangerous pass from Dušan Tadić. Despite going behind at halftime, Feyenoord continued with the same approach; however, they could not find a way to score.

In the final minutes of the game, Nelson committed a penalty on Devyne Rensch, which would be charged and scored by Dušan Tadić. With this, Ajax adds another three points and remains in second place of the Eredivisie standings.