PSV achieved a much-needed victory in the Champions League on Tuesday evening. It seemed to be a carefree evening when they visited Red Star Belgrade, but the Eindhoven team almost gave up a 3-0 lead after a red card from Flamingo. Fortunately, it didn’t get to that point, so tickets for the next round can be booked.
The leading qualities of Luuk de Jong are well known in the Netherlands. But in Serbia they were not yet aware of the house specialty. Twice the striker was completely free to score a goal and he gave PSV a comfortable 2-0 lead.
A surprising lead, because in the run-up to the Champions League match against Red Star Belgrade, it was still about the fact that PSV was in a slump. Without playing too big, that was not the case in Serbia.
Red card
PSV knew that if they won, they would be 99.9 percent certain of qualifying for the next round of the Champions League. Eleven points and a very good goal difference should be enough to reach the intermediate round. Partly due to Ryan Flamingo’s 3-0 just before half time, the tickets for that round could already be booked, it seemed.
But just after the break, out of nowhere, there was a red card for Flamingo. He took down his opponent. The red card was a very serious punishment, but it did make things even more exciting in Belgrade.
Injuries and illnesses
Twenty minutes before the end, the Serbs came closer through Cherif Ndiaye. He headed in the 1-3 from close range. It was reason for Bosz to switch, but the choice on the bench was not too great. PSV is struggling with a wave of injuries and also had to deal with cases of flu in the selection. It led to the debut of 18-year-old Wessel Kuhn.
With the youngster in the team, PSV continued to be under pressure. It also quickly led to the 2-3. A doomsday scenario hung in the air. But with a bit of luck, the lead remained intact and PSV took a crucial victory.
Because with the victory, PSV seems to have reached the next round. We still have to wait for a few results on Wednesday, but the expectation is that in 24 hours the last 0.01 percent of uncertainty will disappear. The match against Liverpool awaits next week. The intermediate round awaits two weeks later.