PSV has come a point from leader Ajax. Roger Schmidt’s team won 2-1 against Sparta in Eindhoven tonight, where Nigerian goalkeeper Maduka Okoye was beaten twice in the final phase. In the 82nd minute, Ibrahim Sangaré scored beautifully and then substitute Ryan Thomas tapped in on a pass from Cody Gakpo.
While the team of trainer Roger Schmidt still got off to a good start, PSV’s pace soon dropped considerably. Sparta entered the battle with PSV with five men behind and was not going to give away a lot of space. And the team from Rotterdam succeeded very nicely in that, which ensured that PSV was very difficult to create opportunities. Ibrahim Sangaré was closest to the opening goal with a shot and a header, but PSV didn’t get any further than that.
The attacking game was too dull, the pace too slow and at times it looked a bit uninspired. A lot went through the middle at PSV, but Sparta kept the spaces extremely small, so that there was almost no start for Schmidt’s team.
Until the break, the game progressed at the same pace, but PSV’s game also showed little improvement after tea. However, the Eindhoven team should have taken the lead after 55 minutes.
Statistics PSV – Sparta
Shots: 26-5
Shots on target: 12-2
Possession: 77-23%
Number of passes: 770-245
Pass Purity: 88-60%
Great opportunities for Zahavi
Eran Zahavi was given a mega opportunity when Sparta defender Heylen slipped and thus offered the Israeli striker of PSV a free passage. Zahavi only lacked the real speed to get away from the onrushing Rotterdam defenders and in the end the Israeli didn’t even get a real shot.
But PSV did not succeed in breaking the wall of Sparta. The tempo on the ball was admittedly higher than before the break, but many sloppiness on the ball ensured that the Schmidt team could not put constant pressure on Sparta. After 73 minutes, Zahavi was again close to making it 1-0, but his effort shattered the post from close range.
For a long time, Sparta goalie Okoye seemed to become man of the match, but after 83 minutes he still had to fish a ball out of the net. The Sparta goalkeeper had no answer to a beautiful shot by Ibrahim Sangaré, who played out a player and then took a strike with the right into the far corner: 1-0. After that, Sparta’s resistance was broken and PSV even extended the lead to two after a goal by Ryan Thomas.
The visitors from Rotterdam made it exciting in the final phase with a late connection goal by Lennart Thy, but in the end PSV won the game. As a result, PSV is experiencing an excellent weekend and is approaching leader Ajax by one point.
Top of the Premier League
1. Ajax 8 – 19 points
2. PSV 8 – 18 points
3. FC Utrecht 8 – 17 points
4. Willem II 8 – 16 points
5. Feyenoord 7 – 15 points
Van Ginkel: ‘We are the winner of the weekend’
PSV captain Marco van Ginkel reacted with relief after the hard-fought victory: ,,We had a lot of opportunities, but the Sparta keeper took some incredible balls out of them. We had to wait until the last 10 minutes for goals. That was a bit stressful, yes.”
According to Van Ginkel, he nevertheless kept his spirits up during the match. “You always have to have faith,” he told ESPN. ,,When you get so many chances, you have to hit the ball well. We came closer and closer and in the end Ibrahim Sangaré broke open the game with a very nice shot. Sparta played very defensively. They know they are going to have a hard time here and then they really park the bus here. We also played way too much down the middle and too little over the sides. Before that, we always lost the ball with simple combinations.”
PSV is now one point behind leader Ajax. ,,Will we be the winner of the weekend? Yes, and we are happy about that. The competition has lost and we have won. So we can connect nicely”, he referred to the defeats of Ajax and Feyenoord.
Van Ginkel was replaced after an hour by PSV coach Roger Schmidt. “Am I still angry about that? No, that happens often, doesn’t it?” he said with a wink.
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