The evening was long and nerve-wracking, but PSV still has the main tournament of the Champions League in their sights. After a passionate fight of 120 minutes, AS Monaco was beaten: 3-2. PSV now meets Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Glasgow Rangers in a decisive double.
By Maarten Wijffels
It was make or break in Eindhoven. And it was the first after an evening full of spectacle, 30 minutes of extra playing time and a decisive header from captain Luuk de Jong in that extension. PSV struggled four times with AS Monaco in a year and never really got the upper hand given the scores of 1-2, 0-0, 1-1 and 2-2. But when it really had to be, and with a bustling Philips Stadium behind it, that last 2-2 was turned into a victory that was celebrated late into the night.
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– Luuk de Jong and Jordan Teze
– Trainer Ruud van Nistelrooij
PSV can now compete against Glasgow Rangers for one place in the main tournament of the Champions League. Next week first in Scotland, a week later at home, in undoubtedly the same electrically charged atmosphere as yesterday.
The pot between the number two in the Netherlands and the number three in France was fascinating from the start. Both trainers chalked up the same eleven men on paper in their starting positions as last week in Monte Carlo. In those formations a first half developed in which Monaco made the game and PSV looked what looked like Phillip Cocu’s PSV.
Ruud van Nistelrooij prefers to play dominant football and often have the ball. But he organizes his team in such a way that if that does not work and key players are not in the game (for example, Cody Gakpo yesterday, Ibrahim Sangaré after the break), PSV does not have to be disarmed immediately.
The team will then not naively try to make the game anyway. What happened under the previous coach Roger Schmidt in European duels.
PSV was thus pushed back, but always kept a danger on the counterpunch through individual actions via the wing, an overlapping back or through the air. Against all odds, the home team took the lead after 21 minutes, just like in the first leg. And with Joey Veerman, the goalscorer was the same. On the right flank, right back Philipp Mwene freed himself in a combination with right winger Ismael Saibari and Veerman pushed the ball into the far corner from 16 meters from the withdrawn cross from the German.
As it went, the 1-2 was also inevitable. He also dropped out after 70 minutes, a situation that Van Nistelrooij had wanted to avoid beforehand. Loss of ball from substitute Guti and immediately Monaco was gone on the counter. Substitute Breel Mbolo hurled the ball to the far post where Ben Yedder finished: 1-2.
Just as Guti was on his way to become the schlemiel of the evening, he made up for his mistake at a time when PSV seemed to be finally exhausted. In the 88th minute, the Mexican headed for 2-2. Luuk de Jong was also at the base of that goal with a header. The goal was hotly contested by Monaco. Was Guti offside with a toe? However, the goal remained and in extra time De Jong PSV nodded to the jump-off for one ticket for the main tournament of the CL. PSV last played there in 2019.
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