Ruud van Nistelrooij enjoyed the way PSV won the Johan Cruijff Scale on Saturday. The trainer saw his team win 3-5 against Ajax in Amsterdam on his official debut.
PSV was 0-1 behind in the Johan Cruijff ArenA, but was ahead 2-1 at halftime. In the second half, Ajax was level again, after which the team from Eindhoven took the game to themselves.
“Everyone came out of the game very well and a number of guys made their debuts. We scored five great goals and won a prize. This was a pleasure, a dream start,” Van Nistelrooij told ESPN.
The former top striker saw that PSV had a hard time with Ajax in the first half, although he was of the opinion that his team determined the game in the first ten minutes of the match.
“That’s how I experienced it. We were in their half, put pressure and forced long balls. After that Ajax often came through on our right side through cross passes. Then we had to defend with all hands on deck.”
Guus Til was the big man at PSV with three goals.
Guus Til was the big man at PSV with three goals. Photo: Getty Images
‘It’s good that we have people like Til’
Van Nistelrooij also enjoyed Guus Til, who scored twice before half time and completed his hat-trick in the second half. According to the coach, a team needs such players to get over a dead point.
“He plays a little further away from the build-up. It’s good to have people who come in the ‘sixteen’. We had less control in the first half than I would have liked because we were sloppy on the ball.”
In the second half, Van Nistelrooij could afford to switch with a view to the confrontation with AS Monaco, which is the opponent on Tuesday in the third qualifying round of the Champions League.
“When we led 4-2, I switched. That also had to do with that,” he said. “I took out some guys who had played less in preparation. Some were pretty empty.”
The match between AS Monaco and PSV will be played at Stade Louis II on Tuesday at 8 p.m. The return is a week later in Eindhoven.