„I jump for Luke, you jump for Luke. We all jump for Luuk”, sang the overjoyed PSV fans after the final whistle. “I came back for this,” said De Jong in front of the camera of ESPN. “Camp Nou in Barcelona is beautiful, but this is my home.”
Sign up for the Football Update and stay up to date with the latest football news on a daily basis.
AS Monaco was better than PSV for a large part of the match. But Érick Gutiérrez dragged an extension out of the fire for the Eindhoven club in the 89th minute. Cody Gakpo was barely able to walk in extra time. Jordan Teze also stumbled across the field, but the defender did provide the assist on the 3-2.
“I also had cramps in my hamstrings,” said De Jong, “But it worked. Now we play against Rangers in the play-offs. I’m already excited.”
Ruud van Nistelrooy thanks the supporters after the 3-2 victory.
AP
Van Nistelrooy praises character and willpower
Ruud van Nistelrooy complimented the players for their perseverance. Elimination seemed near for a long time, but the Eindhoven team still managed to make it after extra time.
“The course of the match was clear,” said Van Nistelrooij, who saw that Monaco had the upper hand and pushed PSV backwards. “We couldn’t get out of it in the second half. Then you have to get it from somewhere else. I saw again today that we never give up. It’s all about character, willpower, mentality and unity.”
Relive the duel via our scoreboard with extensive statistics