PSV is back on the ground. After a flawless start in the Eredivisie, it lost in the first match in the Champions League (3-1) against Juventus. In Turin, PSV fell through the ice and showed that it is not good enough for the highest level for the time being.
The Eindhoven team played along nicely for twenty minutes. After that, Juventus showed the sore points of this PSV quite clearly. Because where everything went crescendo in the Eredivisie, it went wrong in the first serious test of strength.
Tactically, Peter Bosz’s team was outclassed on the right. And just like in the match against Borussia Dortmund last February, the players could not turn it around themselves. ‘Juve’ continuously created a numerical advantage against Richard Ledezma. The midfielder, who is still playing right back in the absence of Rick Karsdorp, was hardly or not at all helped by his teammates.
PSV is overrun
It created a lot of freedom and it was not for nothing that Juventus left winger Kenan Yildiz scored the opening goal. Ledezma had to choose and (in hindsight) made the wrong choice. The Turkish forward curled the ball beautifully into the far corner.
PSV lost it for a moment and Juventus got wings after the opening goal. Joël Drommel, who was in goal because Walter Benitez had become a father, postponed the second Italian goal. But six minutes after the opening goal it was still 2-0. Weston McKennie was able to score from close range. PSV were completely overrun in that phase.
Collective failure
It is very easy to look at the inexperienced left and right backs of PSV. But Matteo Dams and Richard Ledezma were part of the collective that simply failed. The experienced players also made obvious mistakes. Like Joey Veerman at 3-0.
The midfielder let himself be childishly pushed off the ball, after which it was open house in the PSV defense. Nicolas Gonzalez took advantage and made it 3-0. Not much later Veerman had to pay for his mediocre match with a substitution. In the last minute of injury time substitute Ismael Saibari eased the pain by making it 3-1.
Not good enough
The conclusion is quite simple and quick to draw after one Champions League match. This PSV is certainly good enough to (probably) become champions in the Eredivisie. But as soon as the resistance increases, it has no answer. That does not mean that the Bosz team will have no chance in the rest of the Champions League campaign. There will be enough opponents that are of a lower calibre than Juventus, such as Girona, Stade Brest and Shakhtar Donetsk. The points will have to be won there.
But the defeat in Turin shows that the doubts about the quality of the selection were justified. They bought to become champions again in the Eredivisie. But that is not enough to be able to score high in the Champions League. The second match is in two weeks. Then Sporting CP will visit Eindhoven.
Also read: PSV supporters spend more than 30 hours on the bus for the match in Turin
