It was not PSV’s best match, but the three points still go back to Eindhoven. PSV achieved a narrow 0-1 win over NAC in Breda. Man of the match, PSV’s goalie Matej Kovar, praised the home club during the press conference afterwards. “They had prepared well.” Trainer Peter Bosz thought PSV was very sloppy, but is happy that the win was achieved.
“There were two things that were bad today: that was our way of putting pressure and the sloppiness in possession of the ball,” said Peter Bosz after the match. NAC had prepared well tactically for PSV and secured Jerdy Schouten in defence. Bosz: “When an opponent puts so much pressure, you have to respond and move on. And we didn’t do that.”
Matej Kovar was the best man on the side of the Eindhoven team, Bosz also agreed. The Czech goalkeeper made three great saves and was also pleased with his performance. “I was happy that today was my day and that I could help the team,” he said. Yet he was also impressed by NAC: “It was a good opponent, who had adjusted well to us.”
NAC played on Saturday evening in a line-up with five defenders. Something that PSV had a hard time with before, against Telstar and Olympiakos. According to Bosz, it could have something to do with this: “We are not really used to five defenders in the Netherlands. We are trained differently here, but you can also encounter this.”
“It just wasn’t good enough today.”
Last week PSV did not play football because of one international break. In any case, that was not the reason, according to the trainer of the Eindhoven team. “That’s no excuse. If we had won now, we would have continued our good form. It just wasn’t good enough today.”
Naturally, the coach is happy with the result. “This was a match in which we had to survive. The boys did well.” Perhaps the champion’s luck, as they say. “If you want to become champion, you have to get the points in your bad games. When we play well, we should win all our games.”
PSV’s next match is on Wednesday. PSV will then play in the Champions League against English champions Liverpool. It is not the first time for Matej Kovar to visit Anfield, Liverpool’s stadium. He played goalkeeper for many years at rival Manchester United. “I’ve been there a number of times, but I’ve never had the opportunity to play minutes there. When I was young I dreamed of playing in stadiums like Anfield, so I’m looking forward to it.”