Jerdy Schouten had answered almost apologetically. English football, it didn’t matter much to him. As a child he had never looked at it longingly, the PSV captain said on Tuesday evening, in the run-up to the Champions League match against Liverpool FC. So playing at Anfield, historic ground, seemed fun for him for once, but nothing more than that.
As hypocritically as Schouten reacted, head coach Peter Bosz also spoke unaffectedly, a few minutes later, in response to the same question. During Tuesday evening’s training, his players were allowed to look around the empty stadium for a moment, he said. But after that he expected utmost concentration towards the match. Because why shouldn’t PSV be able to perform stunts against this team with its deep form crisis?
They turn out to be predictive words, more than 24 hours later. Because this Wednesday Anfield is not the domain of superstars such as Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and mega purchase Alexander Isak, but of Schouten, the slender Brazilian Mauro Junior and the tireless Guus Til, who after just under an hour sets the tone for an evening that will be more memorable than even Bosz probably expected in advance.
Most of the 60,000 spectators watch in silence: how the problems deepen and the home team loses again, with a big 1-4. When the result emerges after more than an hour, it is only the 3,000 who traveled from Eindhoven who make themselves heard, tirelessly waving their scarves. The realization dawns that their team is once again pulling off a huge stunt, even bigger than last month’s 6-2 at home against Napoli.
Reversed situation
Ten months earlier they had also met each other, PSV and Liverpool, then in Eindhoven, in very different circumstances. At the time, Liverpool were in top form, having already secured the next round after seven wins in Europe. PSV, on the other hand, had an inexplicable dip in form, losing points almost every week. Slot had fielded a team full of reserves that evening, and saw his team lose 3-2 in an entertaining match.
The situation has now almost turned around: Liverpool is no shadow of the team that won the league title last season, lost six of the last seven league matches, and is now twelfth in the Premier League. While PSV has regained top form after a rough start to the season and turned a deficit in the Eredivisie into a six-point lead.
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This time, Slot has no choice but to send his best eleven onto the field, in search of rehabilitation and self-confidence. But against all those well-known names, it is PSV that immediately shows itself, showing little respect for the location or opponent. See, for example, how Mauro smoothly crosses the field in the opening phase and gets rid of two opponents. How winger Dennis Man chases his opponent to the corner flag. How left back Anass Salah-Eddine repeatedly catches the dribbles of Egyptian star Salah.
Already in the first minutes, PSV gets two corner kicks in quick succession, one of the weaknesses of current Liverpool. In the second, it is captain Van Dijk who tries to clear, but during the heading duel he throws his hand into the air, against the ball. A penalty, after just four minutes of play. With the fanatic supporters of the home team in front of him, veteran Ivan Perisic hits hard.
Ivan Perisic scores the 0-1 from a penalty kick.
Photo Sem van der Wal / ANP
There seems to be little going on for Liverpool. The team quickly regroups and pushes PSV back for a long time. Immediately at the first chance, after more than fifteen minutes of play, the equalizer is scored. It’s a move that starts with winger Cody Gakpo, who moves inside and shoots. His shot is tapped away by goalkeeper Matej Kovar, but into the feet of midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai: 1-1.
It is the prelude to a whole host of opportunities for the Slot team. A blocked shot from Gakpo, a shoulder push that causes Salah to miss the ball, a header from Van Dijk on the crossbar. But when a second goal for Liverpool is not forthcoming and half time approaches, the trainer sees his team slowly losing control, he says later. And then, after about an hour of play, there is Mauro’s sudden dribble from his own half, followed by a through ball to Til: 2-1. Slot watches it impassively, his hands deep in his trouser pockets.
Ball possession
PSV is not so much better, but that is not necessary against this Liverpool, Slot knows. On Tuesday evening he had looked back on last weekend’s league defeat, 3-0 at home to Nottingham Forest. Liverpool had three quarters of the ball possession, according to Slot, and had plenty of chances. But the difference was: Forrest did almost everything well defensively, while Liverpool played extremely weakly in those few moments without the ball.
And on Wednesday evening against PSV that is again how the match will be decided. Bosz’s team only had possession of the ball for half an hour and made nine goal attempts. The home team shoots three times as often. But at Liverpool only one of those 27 chances is successful, and at PSV almost half. Goals three and four were scored by Couhaib Driouech. With that last goal, just before the end, half of PSV’s bench rushes onto the field to celebrate the goal.
Disappointment among Liverpoool players Virgil van Dijk and Alexis Mac Allister after PSV’s 1-3.
Photo Sem van der Wal / ANP
When the final whistle sounds at just before ten o’clock local time, the Liverpool players are left behind on the field, defeated. Defender Milos Kerkez stares into an endless distance, midfielder Ryan Gravenberch hides his head in his shirt, captain Van Dijk rests with one knee on the ground, his head down, and picks at his shoes for a long time. While a frenzied away section sings to the PSV players, coach Slot makes a short tour of his players before quickly slipping into the tunnel towards the changing rooms.
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