Cup winners AZ Alkmaar scored a resounding 4-0 win over PSV in the Johan Cruyff Shield, the traditional curtain-raiser to the Dutch league season. The champions never recovered after Joey Veerman was sent off in the ninth minutes for raising his boot into the face of Mexx Meerdink. Referee Serdar Gözübüyük appeared to be reaching for the yellow card at first, but showed the midfielder a straight red after consulting the VAR team. I don’t think Joey could have done much about it, but it’s dangerous play so it was a red card.” “It meant we could practice defending with a low block, something we usually only get to do in the Champions League,” he said.