Ajax was stronger in the opening phase and deservedly took the lead through Steven Bergwijn. “I can only clap for such a goal,” said new PSV head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy. But Til headed home in the 32nd and 45th minute, on a pass from Cody Gakpo. “Luuk de Jong is known as a good header,” said the goalscorer. “He always ran to the first post. As a result, I came up against lesser Ajax players.”
“Ajax wants to have the ball and attack,” Til said. “That’s not bad at all. We have to be well behaved. Then we won’t get in trouble. Ajax attacks in such a way that every counter of our cash register can be. We know when Ajax is vulnerable. We have exploited that well.”
Luuk de Jong cheers after Guus Til scored the 1-1 during the match for the Johan Crujff scale against Ajax.
AP
Til did not mention that Ajax sometimes defended very clumsily. Goalkeeper Jay Gorter made a mistake with two and perhaps three hits. Devyne Rensch gave Gakpo way too much space for his crosses. And Owen Wijndal was late for Til’s first goal. Calvin Bassey, the new Nigerian defender of Ajax, also did his team a disservice at a deficit of 3-4. He was shown the red card for a wild tackle on substitute Ismael Saibari.
“Only then did I have the idea that we were going to make it,” said Til, who, like a few other newcomers at PSV, could look back on a good game. Walter Benítez, who came over on a free transfer from OGC Nice, kept an excellent goal and Xavi Simons determined the final score in injury time. “I think we have a very wide and good selection,” Til said. “On to Tuesday now. We have to be back against AS Monaco in the preliminary round of the Champions League.”