The stunt against Arsenal caused a lot of joy at PSV. The fact that the knockout phase was also secured came as an unexpected surprise. Ruud van Nistelrooij and Erick Gutiérrrez looked back on a great evening in the Philips Stadium and reflected on the role of Luuk de Jong.
“A 2-0 win over Arsenal is great,” said Ruud van Nistelrooij afterwards. We survived the first half in our own way, but I saw that the gas tank was already almost empty. It surprised me that she still played such a second half.”
Van Nistelrooij continues his story: “We now have to show this weekly. This should be our standard level. We have to become more consistent.”
Erick Gutiérrez also saw a very good PSV. “We played an intelligent game. We moved forward at the right times and back at the right times. Everyone was involved in our game. We had one goal today and that was to qualify for the knockout stage. Very happy that FC Zurich helped.”
“Then you suddenly realize that it can be a beautiful evening”
Still, it remains a strange season at PSV. It loses to SC Cambuur and FC Groningen, while it wins again against Arsenal. How is that possible? “I happened to be talking about this in the locker room,” the Mexican began his reply. “The six minutes in Groningen were a lack of focus. Now we were focused from the warm-up to the last second. That makes the difference.”
Partly due to the result at FC Zurich – Bodø/Glimt, PSV is already assured of the next round in the Europa League. Yesterday, something like this was labeled a miracle. “I didn’t see the combination of us winning and losing Bodø/Glimt coming. I heard the team manager’s score for the first time in the 88th minute. Then you suddenly realize that it can be a beautiful evening.”
“You see confidence growing when he comes into the team”
Finally, it was of course also about Luuk de Jong who had a major impact on the match. With an assist and a goal, he was the most important man on the PSV side. “You see confidence growing when he comes into the team,” the coach noted. Gutiérrez agreed with those words. “It’s great to play with Luuk. He is important in the combination but can always be found in front of the goal. A real number nine.”
Also read: PSV stunt against Arsenal and through to Europa League knockout phase