In a country divided between cruyffistas and vangaalistswhere chatter around the ball is common and criticism is given without embarrassment because it is understood to be constructive, the treatment of round is usually exquisite since Rinus Michels promoted it with his Clockwork Orangea small land that argues with logic because of the extensive list of universal players it has produced. This PSV is not disgusted by history, overall Duracell that plays in combustion, with accentuated hallmarks: forward pressure, man-marking, diligence and speed in deliveries and vertigo attack and tackling, football in tails. He didn’t hit it against Juve, it was enough for him to draw against PSG and Sporting, and he uncovered it against Girona.
4
Walter Benítez, Ryan Flamingo, Matteo Dams (Fredrik Oppegård, min. 70), Rick Karsdorp (Ismael Saibari, min. 70), Olivier Boscagli, Malik Tillman, Guus Til (Isaac Babadi, min. 84), Mauro Júnior, Johan Bakayoko , Luuk de Jong (Ricardo Pepi, min. 84) and Noa Lang (Couhaib Driouech, min. 63)
0
Paulo Gazzaniga, Daley Blind, Arnau Martínez, Ladislav Krejcí, David López, Silvi Clua (Jastin García, min. 78), Miguel Gutiérrez, Bryan Gil (Kim Min-Su, min. 78), Yangel Herrera (Oriol Romeu, min. 60), Bojan Miovski (Cristhian Stuani, min. 66) and Donny van de Beek (Juanpe, min. 60)
Goals
1-0 min. 15: Ryan Flamingo. 2-0 min. 32: Malik Tillman. 3-0 min. 82: Johan Bakayoko. 4-0 min. 87: Ladislav Krejci
Referee Michael Oliver
yellow cards
Luuk de Jong (min. 39), Arnau Martinez (min. 39), Bryan Gil Salvatierra (min. 47), Karsdorp (min. 57), Matteo Dams (min. 59), Gazzaniga (min. 90), Stuani ( min. 90), Johan Bakayoko (min. 90)
red cards
Arnau Martinez (min. 54)
Míchel’s team already knew who and where they were playing – PSV has gone two years without losing at home – but they didn’t get their way even with those. And that at the beginning he gave a great response to the mistake, accepting that the ball for once would not be his, voracious in the vertical attack and with the rod on. It was Herrera who warned with a header; Krejci who supported him with a shot from the balcony of the area; and Miovski enjoyed a heads-up. But no one could beat Benítez’s mitts and the duel tilted towards the other side of the net, an ode to beautiful football and a compliment for coach Peter Bosz.
PSV soon understood the rival’s proposal, smart because it planted the line of the advanced defense to play with the pieces well together and thus deny the second plays that Luuk De Jong so often provokes with his struggle for aerial balls or passes that skip a pressure line. Thus, playing from the roots, PSV, always on the boil, run, run, I’ll catch you, managed to find the few spaces that Girona offered through the interior corridors to launch two rockets, two, into the careers of Bakayoko and Lang. hell. In one of those, Lang took a cross that Tillman managed to finish to uncork the flashes with Gazzaniga’s stop. Something similar happened later with a shot from Lang’s turn and more of the same happened with the second goal, when Tillman broke diagonally, happy because no one was coming in and they opened the sea for him two by two like Moses. Shot and goal, a blow for a Girona that learned that what it has is not enough, at least until the infinite number of injured players return (Tsygankov, Francés, Asprilla, Danjuma, Ivan Martín, Solís, Portu, Abel Ruiz…).
But what perhaps upset his proposal and spirit was how he conceded the first goal, a throw-in (center) by Tillman that Flamingo attacked from behind. A grotesque mistake in the elite. And although Girona wanted to resume the duel, PSV did not allow it.
It was Tillman, a caped footballer last night, who clarified it with another run into space, with stratospheric control (after jumping and on the run), with a pass for De Jong to finish at will, a shot that only the post could spit out. PSV was already doing a lot with little and could only smile when Arnau, naive because he saw yellow for protesting, ended up sent off for a foul that he was forced to make when faced with the attack of Lang, another one who danced across the grass.
Míchel tried to change course with the changes, but at a disadvantage and without the ball in his possession, he had no choice but to resort to defensive exercise and sporadic counterattacks. Nothing that would worry the energetic PSV, superior physically and last night in football, superb at the start and later enjoying the spaces. And although De Jong and Til did not draw blood with their crooked shots, although Saibari had a goal disallowed after a sensational slalom, Bakayoko did resolve with a low shot at the short post, in addition to Krejci scoring an own goal after the Gazzaniga rejects a shot from Saibari.
It was the European relief for PSV and a resounding slap for Girona, who will now host Sturm Graz but will have the Tourmalet with Liverpool, Milan and Arsenal.
