Pepi says he regularly talks about his role as reserve with trainer Peter Bosz. “I have to accept his decision and cannot say exactly how I feel. If you get a chance, you have to be there and then wait for the next match.”
Ricardo Pepi or Guus Til?
PSV will play away to AZ on Sunday and the question will again be whether Bosz chooses the disappointing Guus Til in Greece as striker or the American international Pepi.
Response Peter Bosz
Bosz indicated that he was happy with the 1-1 because the point at the end of the competition phase can make the difference between qualifying for the play-offs or elimination from the Champions League.
“It wasn’t a spectacle as I expected, though. That was due to sloppiness with the ball on our side and good pressure by Olympiacos. It was not possible to see the rooms. That was frustrating in the first half, but it was better after the break when we had shown some images during the break.”
Pepi helps PSV escape in Athens
Substitutions
“The substitutions helped us get the draw,” said Bosz. “A number of players who could make a difference for us did not give up. It is also not easy because you don’t play these kinds of matches very often. You are constantly under pressure and in the noise of this stadium you have to remain calm and know the solution in advance. That is difficult,” said Bosz, who admitted to having some tinnitus.
Jerdy Schouten (right) was happy with the draw in Greece. © ANP/HH
PSV captain Jerdy Schouten could ultimately live with the draw. “I am happy with the point because the equalizer came so late, but we were not outplayed.”
Schouten admitted that PSV had difficulty with the pressure from the Greeks, but mainly looked for the problem within their own ranks. “We didn’t start sharp enough and that resulted in frequent careless losses of the ball. If you quickly fall behind, you are lagging behind. No, it wasn’t good, but I can live with the 1-1.”
Relive: Ricardo Pepi is a golden boy at PSV with an equalizer in the extreme at Olympiacos
Joey Veerman
Joey Veerman agreed that PSV did well in the Greek capital, but felt that there could have been more to it. “If we had launched our final offensive earlier. We fought in the second half and rewarded ourselves with the 1-1.”
Also a result from which you can say that PSV got away well because Ricardo Pepi’s goal came deep in injury time. “Looking at it like that, you can get away with 1-1. In the first half we were unable to find the free man and we had difficulty playing under the pressure from the Greeks.”
The point found was a boost for all PSV players to reach the play-offs despite the tough rest program with Liverpool, Atletico Madrid, Newcastle United and Bayern Munich.
| Position | Team | P | GS | W | V | G | DS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | +11 | |
| 2 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | +11 | |
| 3 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | +9 | |
| 4 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | +9 | |
| 5 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | +6 | |
| 6 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | +5 | |
| 7 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | +5 | |
| 8 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | +5 | |
| 9 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | +4 | |
| 10 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | +3 | |
| 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | +6 | |
| 12 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | +5 | |
| 13 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | +3 | |
| 14 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | +1 | |
| 15 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | +1 | |
| 16 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | -1 | |
| 17 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | +2 | |
| 18 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -2 | |
| 19 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -3 | |
| 20 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | -4 | |
| 21 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | -5 | |
| 22 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | +2 | |
| 23 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -1 | |
| 24 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -2 | |
| 25 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | -3 | |
| 26 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | -8 | |
| 27 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -3 | |
| 28 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -4 | |
| 29 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -5 | |
| 30 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -6 | |
| 31 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -7 | |
| 32 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -3 | |
| 33 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | -8 | |
| 34 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -8 | |
| 35 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | -5 | |
| 36 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | -10 |