NOS Football•
PSV’s strong run ended against Atlético Madrid. The Eindhoven team lost the sixth game in the competition phase of the Champions League 2-3. It was the first defeat for Peter Bosz’s team in fourteen games.
PSV remains at eight points and drops slightly in the rankings, but still has a chance to continue in the Champions League. It won’t be easy, with games against Newcastle United (away) and Bayern Munich (home) on the remaining schedule.
PSV has been in top form in recent weeks, including great victories over Liverpool, AZ and Napoli, but it did not work against the collective of Atlético coach Diego Simeone. The Eindhoven team looked constructively vulnerable due to the early pressure that Atlético applied.
PSV was very sloppy with the ball, but danger arose with smooth counters. For example, Joey Veerman sent Couhaib Driouech into the depth after nine minutes. The wing player looked to the right, saw that Guus Til had run along and gave the easy-scoring occasional striker a chance for an open goal (1-0).
PSV’s combination play on the counters was characteristic, in contrast to the powerlessness sometimes in the build-up. The home team occasionally did not know what to do with the high pressure from Atlético, which became dangerous several times. The Norwegian giant striker Alexander Sørloth and the slightly smaller Argentinian Julián Álvarez always dived like hawks on the PSV defenders.
Error Gasiorowski
After more than half an hour of play, Yarek Gasiorowski took the ball too carelessly and did not see that he was being boxed in. Sørloth picked up the ball and saw that Álvarez could score more easily (1-1).
PSV still had great opportunities before the break, especially for Driouech, who twice came face-to-face with goalkeeper Jan Oblak. But the fierce and technically sovereign Spaniards saw that there was more to be achieved in Eindhoven than one point.
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De stand in de Champions League -
De stand in de Champions League
That came out soon after halftime. Former Feyenoord player Dávid Hancko responded alertly to a deflected shot by Nahuel Molina (1-2) and five minutes later Sørloth headed in the 1-3 on a pass from Pablo Barrios.
It could easily have been 1-4, because PSV remained sloppy until it launched a major offensive in the final phase. In the nervous hunt for the tying goal, substitute Ricardo Pepi had two great opportunities, after which he tapped the ball in at the far post on the third chance (2-3).
In Eindhoven they already counted the 3-3 when Armando Obispo got the ball in front of his feet in the goalmouth, but somehow the center back couldn’t get the ball in.
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