The quick and agile Madueke was at the heart of both the first and third goals and, after a lengthy recovery period, has returned to the form he showed right at the start of the season. If Madueke manages to stay fit in the coming period, then Schmidt will have a powerful weapon in the battle on three fronts that PSV is waging.
After three minutes it was already hit for the first time in the Gelredome. Madueke soloed through the Vitesse defence, made it to the back line and gave the lead to Mario Götze. The German still found Vitesse goalkeeper Jeroen Houwen on his way, but Eran Zahavi was in the right place for the rebound (0-1). The Israeli’s fifth league goal and ninth in total this season.
At Vitesse, Loïs Openda and Jacob Rasmussen made their comeback after a suspension and Nikolai Baden Frederiksen had been given a starting place in competition for the first time since the winter break. Although Vitesse was able to rejoin the formation, with which it made such an impression earlier this season in, among other things, the Conference League and the home matches with Feyenoord and FC Utrecht, the Arnhem team did not appear in the piece at all this time.
Noni Madueke was a real plague for the Vitesse defense, especially before half-time.
Ⓒ ProShots
It was PSV that controlled the game and created constant danger, while Vitesse was very vulnerable defensively. Goalkeeper Jeroen Houwen, who already made a serious mistake against FC Twente, was allowed to count the 0-2. The goalie let a shot by PSV left back Mauro Junior, who this time had been preferred over Philipp Max, go right past his body. Vitesse was broken with that and the last bit of hope for success was dashed, when it immediately became 0-3. Madueke danced through the Arnhem defense again and this time Cody Gakpo was the end station. The Eindhoven player’s seventh league goal and twelfth in total this season.
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And so the supporters of Vitesse, who regained access to the Gelredome for the first time in three months, had a sour evening. Despite the permitted third occupation, the spacious Vitesse was able to grant access to all season ticket holders. Full of self-mockery, the Vitesse supporters joked on a banner: ‘1/3 is not so crazy, is it? There is always room in Gelredome’. The cheerful atmosphere had completely changed within half an hour. The Vitesse supporters expressed their distaste for the make-up party with flute concerts and the chanting ‘Shame on you’.
Freewheeling towards the Conference League
With Tom Domgjoni and Dominik Oroz instead of Riechedly Bazoer and Frederiksen, Vitesse coach Thomas Letsch tried to give the team a new impulse. Because PSV took it easy, the team from Arnhem looked a bit better in the second half, but it didn’t really help. PSV goalkeeper Joël Drommel hardly got anything to do. PSV was able to freewheel to the finish, nice in view of the Conference League match with Maccabi Tel Aviv next Thursday. After an hour, Schmidt overpowered his attacking trump cards Zahavi and Madueke and after 72 minutes, Götze and Gakpo were allowed to rest. Carlos Vinicius also managed to find the goal of the substitutes (0-4). It was completely open again at Vitesse in the back, so that the Brazilian could be released by Ibrahim Sangaré. Ritsu Doan also contributed another goal to the big win (5-0).
And so, after the defeats against Ajax and AZ, it has been a beneficial week for PSV with a 4-0 victory over NAC and a 5-0 victory over Vitesse. The new impetus that Madueke has brought has provided a welcome impulse.
Vitesse, on the other hand, goes to Vienna with a head full of worries for the meeting in the intermediate round of the Conference League with Rapid Wien. Letsch’s team has had a disaster week with a 5-0 defeat against Ajax and 5-0 against PSV and has already lost four matches in a row. The form is hard to find and that does not bode well for the historic visit to Vienna for Vitesse, which has never been active in Europe after the winter break in club history.