PSV has achieved its first victory in the main tournament of the Champions League. The Eindhoven team impressed in front of their own audience against the Italian champions Napoli and won 6-2. The score could have been even higher.
With 4 points from three matches, PSV is on track for a place in the intermediate round. In two weeks Olympiakos in Greece will be the next opponent.
PSV started the evening with a setback. Right wing defender Sergiño Dest, a regular in coach Peter Bosz’s team, reported too late for the match review and therefore started on the reserve bench as punishment. Ryan Flamingo took over his position.
Napoli provided the first danger. Kevin De Bruyne rounded goalkeeper Matej Kovar in the eighth minute after a deep pass, but then saw the ball go a little too far in front of him to do anything dangerous with it.
Chances
PSV had two chances to open the score shortly afterwards. Dennis Man was just unable to get past goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic in the short corner and Guus Til headed over from the subsequent corner kick.
Scott McTominay was successful for Napoli after half an hour of play. Captain Jerdy Schouten let Leonardo Spinazzola cross from the left and the Scot headed between two PSV players: 0-1.
PSV turned the deficit into a lead before half time. Alessandro Buongiorno put the ball behind his own goalkeeper in the 35th minute: 1-1. Three minutes later the home crowd cheered again. After a duel in the PSV sixteen-meter area, the Eindhoven team quickly switched via Schouten. Til passed the ball just in time to Ismael Saibari, who had a free passage towards the goal from his own half and did not fail: 2-1.
Ricardo Pepi and Couhaib Driouech of PSV celebrate the 5-2.
Photo Robin van Lonkhuijsen / ANP
Second half
After the break, PSV put Napoli under a lot of pressure and, on a pass from Mauro Júnior, Man scored through the legs of defender Sam Beukema to make it 3-1 in the 54th minute.
PSV then missed several good opportunities to go further. This is how Schouten shot against the post. Napoli had to continue with one man less from the 76th minute after a direct red card for striker Lorenzo Lucca. Not much later, Man made it 4-1 by coming in from the right and hitting the target.
McTominay reduced the deficit with a header from a corner, but PSV then struck twice more through substitutes Ricardo Pepi and Couhaib Driouech in front of a delirious crowd in the Philips Stadium.
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