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Van Nistelrooij: ‘If you score five goals, I can’t complain about that’
Ajax-PSV was not only the duel of the debuting trainers, but also that of two striking faces under the bar. Keepers Jay Gorter and Walter Benítez played a major role in the 3-5, the highest score ever in a match for the Johan Cruijff Scale.
Benítez eventually became the hero of PSV, although according to trainer Ruud van Nistelrooij the Argentinian could have been a bit more decisive in the third goal.
“It is clear what kind of peace he brings,” said Van Nistelrooij. “The first moment in the game he calmly cuts someone out behind his standing leg and plays the ball back in. Then you think as a team: that will be fine today.”
Gorter unsure
Jay Gorter did not give his teammates at Ajax that confidence. On his second goal he came out awkwardly, on the third goal he just gave a rebound to Cody Gakpo.
“You can also say that defenders don’t do things right”, his coach Alfred Schreuder protected the young keeper, whom he preferred to the experienced Remko Pasveer. “It’s too short-sighted to say everyone: only Jay.”
View the reactions of Alfred Schreuder, Guus Til and Steven Bergwijn below:
False start for Schreuder at Ajax: ‘Defensively it really needs to be better’
Til debuts with hat-trick at PSV: “Especially happy that we won”
No sentiments at scoring Bergwijn: ‘Just play for Ajax now’
Schreuder also looked back with a good feeling on his first official match as head coach of Ajax. “I’ve seen a lot of good things in possession,” he looked at it mainly positively. “But it really has to be better defensively.”
And that while he was still so much hammered on it.
“Last year Ajax already conceded fifteen goals in the last twelve matches. There is something in the game that is too easy. We must improve that quickly,” concluded Schreuder, who does not see the need to enter the transfer market. “That is certainly possible with this group. You have to train and show that.”
Calm Van Nistelrooij
Van Nistelrooij said that he had been very relaxed on the PSV bench, because he had looked forward to the game with great confidence. “There were phases that we were under fire and phases that we had to run out,” the trainer analyzed. “But we did a great job today.”
And that day after the big setback that attacker Noni Madueke has been out of circulation for months. “A setback, for everyone. But if Noni doesn’t play, I will go straight to Johan Bakayoko. I didn’t have to think about that for zero seconds.”
On Tuesday PSV will play against Monaco in the preliminary round of the Champions League, there is no better run-up than this match for the Johan Cruijff Scale, according to Van Nistelrooij. “Can you imagine what this does to a team. To win such a match with five goals, that is of course a fantastic performance from this team.”
