PSV had a painful return to the Champions League on Wednesday evening. On a visit to Arsenal they lost 4-0. The English were a few sizes too big and gave the Eindhoven club a lot of homework to work on.
A more than hard lesson for PSV in the Champions League. It had been longed for for five years and many fans still dreamed of a result against Arsenal on Wednesday afternoon. After 45 minutes, those aspirations were put on hold. The English club was four sizes too big for the Eindhoven team.
Peter Bosz did not want to adapt too much to the opponent and opted for the battle plan that you are used to from him. He attacked. A tactic that works well against RKC, NEC or Vitesse. But against this Arsenal they were defeated.
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Defensively weak
Arsenal were given a lot of freedom by PSV and that cost them dearly. Within 20 minutes it was already 2-0 to Arsenal. Bukayo Saka scored the 1-0 after eight minutes from an easily given rebound by goalkeeper Walter Benitez. The second goal was scored by Leandro Trossard after miscommunication in PSV’s defense.
It was enjoyable what Arsenal showed, but also distressing what PSV showed defensively. An attacking style of play is commendable, but against this opponent and with this defense it is also deadly. Even before half time it became 3-0 for the English. Gabriel Jesus scored from a Trossard cross.
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Homework
Even though Arsenal slowed down a bit in the second half, it still ended up being 4-0. Odegaard was given complete freedom for a shot from distance. PSV did not put enough in return. They tried in the second half, but they lacked quality against a European superpower. Arsenal simply stayed upright.
The Eindhoven club receives a lot of homework from Arsenal to work on. If it wants to compete at this level, it must learn these hard lessons. These lessons are also for the trainer, because the question is whether this tactic is suitable against this size of opponents. The big defeat is not a shame, but it is painful of course.