Eight goals, eight yellow cards, one red card, VAR moments and the necessary disturbances. “Too much to mention”, head coach Ruud van Nistelrooij looks back after PSV beat arch-rival Ajax 5-3 in Amsterdam on Saturday evening. In his first match as PSV coach, he immediately managed to win a prize. “I really enjoyed it, if you can finally add a prize to the club history, that makes me even more proud.”
Where many nowadays no longer regard the Johan Cruijff Scale as a main prize, PSV and Ajax proved the opposite on Saturday. In a match where there was plenty of passion and struggle, the people of Eindhoven eventually won. “Bizarre what happened here. I also have to let it sink in for a while,” said Van Nistelrooij at the press conference after the game.
PSV eventually won the game 3-5. Debutant Guus Til became the goldcrest of the Eindhoven team. The new midfielder was important with three goals. Two of them were with the head. “Luuk took the two central defenders to the first post, which gave me a head-on against a back. I think that played a part”, Til explains.
“Winning here with five goals is very good.”
In the opening phase, PSV had a hard time with Ajax. Nevertheless, Van Nistelrooij is of the opinion that his team was not inferior to the team from Amsterdam: “In the first ten minutes I thought we were better. We were in their half earlier than they were with us. In the end by sticking to our plan to cross the left. play, we found the free people from there,” the 46-year-old Geffenaar looks back.
PSV can only briefly reminisce about this victory. The important first game against Monaco is scheduled for Tuesday evening.
Whether this victory has given the Eindhoven residents a boost? “You can imagine what this does to a team. It’s not that I saw all grumpy faces in the dressing room,” laughs Van Nistelrooij. “Winning here with five goals is very good.”
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