de Rood-Witten

Incredible win over the Spanish giants, a sign of the times with the club under your stewardship.

You can't get much better than a win against one of the world's elite, such as Real Madrid. An incredible result which could mark the start of something very special, who knows. I truly believe it could.

Champions League (A) : Real Madrid 2(2) - PSV 1(3)


The atmosphere at the Bernabeu was incredible for this one, both Real Madrid and PSV fans were out in force as the home team felt the pressure of being down two goals and needing to win by at least three. With the players available to Max Allegri this wasn’t outside the realm of possibility, and with PSV down to just three healthy CB it started to look more likely. Robert Arboleda and Derrick Luckassen would get the start and be the focus of pre-game media attention.

“I think that Robert and Derrick are up to this” said van Bommel when pressed on his central defenders “they have practiced well together, and I trust Willian Arão to stand in for Tonny who was suspended after the last game.”

If Jack Butland was an expensive lawn gnome in the first game he proved he was worth every pound spent on him and more. It’s hard to believe that even though Gareth Bale scored just 5’ in, beat Nick Viergever to a ball at the back post, and Rodrygo made it 2-0 after 29’ minutes it would have been much worse if not for Butland. Real Madrid managed to put (12) of their (15) shots on target, and Butland was the key to holding the hosts to a 2-0 lead through the second half. Despite the goals allowed, he would find a level of performance van Bommel would have died for last season.

Eugene Konoplyanka would stun the hosts at 74’ and a whole new game emerged, after taking a throw in from Luckassen he would literally run through the Real Madrid team from the half and take a shot from the top of the box that beat Keylor Navas low and to his right. It’s hard to believe, but after Konoplyanka scored Butland ascended to another level. Real Madrid really poured it on at the end of the game and pushed their advantage, but Butland would have none of it. Needing two goals forced them to move quickly and shoot often, where Jeroen Zoet would let in speculative shots from outside the box Butland was a brick wall. Each save brought cheers from the visitors end and only seemed to increase Butland’s powers. The final whistle sent PSV into the next round and spawned an unexplained exchange between van Bommel and Sergio Ramos that ended with the Real Madrid captain being pulled away by his teammates.

The Quarter Final draw after the game would pit PSV against Bayern Munich, but at least now anything seemed possible. It’s doubtful Bayern Munich will fold in the same manner, but at least van Bommel should have most of his roster back.


The high of beating Real Madrid would carry into the international break as PSV celebrated another big win when the U-19 squad clinched the league with a 6-0 over the FC Twente U-19 squad 6-0. Antônio Carlos would also earn some serious plaudits as he became the youngest Dutch international ever at 16 years and 305 days in a friendly against Croatia and teammate Antonio Marin. Boudewijn Dembélé would also play, but he is slightly older than Antônio Carlos and came in as a sub.


Ernest Faber, PSV’s Head of Youth Development, took the podium today to announce the newest crop of PSV youth. The team brought in (17) players on trial, but this is certainly not the class of 2018-19 and no Antônio Carlos came through the door. That doesn’t mean they didn’t find some good players, the previous class might be too high of a bar to set for the future.

Lars Verbeek (CB, Netherlands) - Not his fault, but Verbeek was assaulted with “Next Dembélé” comparisons as soon as he set foot on the property. He’s likely the best central defender in the crop, but fans shouldn’t expect him to force his way into the starting lineup within a year the way Dembélé has. While he looks like a very good player right now it’s questionable if he’s going to be a good player at PSV. He’s a more traditional central defender, so he’s going to need to develop his passing and technical skills to fit into the ball playing defender role PSV use on all levels. It’s rough to say this about a 15-year old, but it looks like his best career path might be elsewhere.

Henny ten Bos (DM, Netherlands) - Along with a fellow signee, ten Bos becomes one of the only defensive midfielders at PSV. For the time being there isn’t much use for a pure DM, but ten Bos also plays a central midfield role like deep lying playmaker well enough that he should have a home. A two-footed player of ten Bos’ size with his kind of pace and budding technical ability is worth keeping around to develop.

Jelmer van Velde (DM, Netherlands) - The other new DM, van Velde is a much more accomplished central midfielder than ten Bos but will need more work to fit into PSV’s system. He doesn’t seem like much now, but the scouting staff really believes in his long term potential.

Gijs van Loon (LW/RW, Netherlands) - The Rinus Bakayoko of this class, an extremely polarizing prospect that some argue could be the best in the class and others see as a burnout. He’s pacey, physically gifted, and already shows the technique and flair needed to be the kind of inside forward van Bommel has been hoarding. He’s tall (6’-1”) and two-footed, but has spent his career up to now playing a winger role. The temptation to retrain him as an inside forward that can play both sides of the field was too much for PSV, this is where the risk comes in though. If he can’t change his game, he’s going to find himself very familiar with the bench unless he gets sold or loaned out.

Willem van den Bleecker (LB/RB, Netherlands) - Same issue as van Loon, but van den Bleecker’s bigger problem is the deep wall of talented outside backs blocking him out of the first team. He’s naturally suited to the attacking wingback role van Bommel favors, and he’s also two-footed so in theory he should be able to play both positions well enough. The lingering issue is if he’s ever going to be good enough to leap into the senior squad with the outside back position at least three to four deep with the younger prospects looking like stars. The best case scenario right now for van den Bleecker is to make a spot for himself on the senior bench, subbing in regularly while waiting for an injury to give him starts. He has the potential to be an excellent Eredivisie player, but he’s got some potential world class players blocking him.

Great to see you got through against Real. Good luck against Bayern in the Quarters.

Eredivisie (A) : FC Groningen 0 - PSV 3


For the first time all season Mark van Bommel would send the second team out for consecutive games in order to keep the first squad fresh for the Champions League, even though their 1-0 win over De Graafschap earlier in the week wouldn’t be particularly impressive a win is still a win. A week before that Feyenoord went down 4-0 to a tired first team squad, so a week off wouldn’t just be for Bayern Munich’s sake. Plus, PSV basically have the league locked up and only needed a win today and against Sparta next week to clinch.

Things were a little interesting as Angeliño would be out before the game with food poisoning, youngster Philippe Wiltord would start in his place but ultimately the pressure would be low. The only person openly pressing the team was van Bommel and his staff, few thought PSV would blow the league and while excitement is swirling around the Champions League the expectations are low.

If FC Groningen had aspirations of slowing PSV’s march to the title they started off very poorly, just 4’ into the game Boudewijn Dembélé headed one in off a corner to go up 1-0 and started the rout. Groningen did their best to keep pace, mostly trying to hold the ball and slow the PSV attack, but they rarely threatened to score. Bruno Henrique managed to be in the right place at the right time when a cross from Antonio Valencia meant for Maximiliano Romero glanced of a defender and made its way to the far post where it turned into an easy tap in. Down 2-0 at the half, this game was essentially over.

As the clock ticked toward 70’ this suddenly got really interesting for the hosts. Bruno Henrique, who had already been booked for tripping Iliass Bel Hassani, decided to try his luck again and ended up getting booked again. Now down a man, FC Groningen suddenly had a chance to go on the attack. Over the remaining 20’ of the game PSV put on a 4-2-3 clinic aided by the unstoppable Jack Butland. They continued to press and the few shots that were taken quickly found Butland unwilling to let them in. Pelayo Morilla, already having a great game, really killed the game off with a goal at 89’ off a corner that put a real exclamation point on the win. The initial delivery was headed out Django Warmerdam, but he didn’t put much force into it and it came down knee high around the top of the box for Morilla to kick out of the air for a stunning goal that caught everyone by surprise. Most of Groningen’s team was moving out of the box and didn’t even notice the ball in the back of the net.

The win, PSV’s third shutout in a row, would be van Bommel’s 100th in charge and a great way to mark the occasion. Now the focus would shift to their trip to the Allianz Arena and a very talented Bayern Munich.


Champions League (A) : Bayern Munich 0(0) - PSV 6(6)


The Allianz Arena would be packed and loud for the Quarter Final first leg, the fact that a German team and a Dutch team were facing off didn’t do much to ease tensions. There was some personal animosity with Hirving Lozano in the Bayern Munich starting lineup, more motivation for the PSV players and some additional spice for the fans. Van Bommel would have some added stress with Gastón Pereiro suspended and Pelayo Morilla getting the start. The lack of experience and leadership would be a constant talking point with the media, but van Bommel was not going to make an excuse.

“I’m not concerned” stated van Bommel “Pelayo is a great player, he’s young, but I wouldn’t select him if I didn’t believe in him.”

The real problem for PSV would be how much better Bayern Munich’s team is and Niko Kovač’s 4-1-4-1 formation, a variant of the 4-3-3 that has caused nothing but problems for van Bommel. Most of the talk, especially in the German media, was how badly PSV would lose rather than if they had a chance to win.

It didn’t take long to see that the PSV fans were not happy with Lozano, the whistling started right away as soon as he touched the ball and would never let up. Things started down the wrong path early for Bayern Munich as David Alaba would pull up limping early, a lingering lower leg injury appeared to be back but he was allowed to play on. Then things really went south 14’ in when Bayern Munich got caught on a counter attack after losing the ball deep in PSV’s third, a quick exchange of passes and suddenly the hosts were on their heels. Luuk de Jong got the ball just outside of the box to the left and was faced with a forming wall of Bayern Munich defenders and layed the ball back to Nick Viergever who charged forward and sent a brilliant through ball to the far post where Tonny Vilhena was able to run onto it unmarked and easily knock it past the furious Manuel Neuer. The hosts seemed unphased, but just five minutes later the time to panic was upon them. Pinned in their own third a long ball would find Robert Arboleda, with no Bayern Munich player in the area, and start a quick PSV attack. Eugene Konoplyanka would take the ball down the left and manage to get around the back line to send a sharp pass across the box to set up an easy goal for the onrushing Antonio Marin. Neuer was less than pleased, down 2-0 after 19’ with both goals coming off situations where he didn’t have a chance put the hosts in a hole that didn’t seem like it would be easy to climb out of.

Maybe it was a sign from the Football Gods, at 23’ Alaba crumpled to the pitch and had to be taken off. Things got so much worse for the hosts after that, so bad that even their fans were whistling at them by the end of the game. Arboleda headed in a goal on a corner, de Jong scored a humiliating goal after Vilhena picked Niklas Süle’s pocket just outside the goal area and sent a cross to the far post, and Morilla knocked in a rebound off Neuer after trying to head in a cross from Marin at the near post. Down 5-0 at halftime, Bayern Munich was starting to look like they were going to be eliminated in the first leg. Konoplyanka and de Jong hooked up one more time at 67’, running through the defense and threading a killer through ball for de Jong to hammer in was the final nail in Bayern Munich’s coffin. Kovač may have had some heated words for his team at the break, but all it did was hold PSV to a single goal.



Perhaps this could be put down to hubris, but van Bommel’s tweak in tactics completely destroyed Bayern Munich and likely eliminated them barring a (7) goal victory on the road. The Germans didn’t just have an off game, they played more like a Zweite League side in the face of a minor tactical change and Kovač will likely find himself answering questions for quite a while. The media was already discussing if he should be fired after the season, this game may have been fatal to his tenure in Munich along with their Champions League run. Bayern Munich played so poorly, or PSV played so well, that (6) PSV players rated 9.0 or higher and only Jack Butland (7.8) failed to rate 8.5 or higher. Bayern Munich also had (6) players rate 6.0 or less and nobody managed to rate at 7.0 or higher.

Eredivisie (H) : PSV 3 - Sparta 0


With everyone still dizzy from the shock win in Munich the fact that PSV had a chance to clinch the league at home was almost forgotten. A draw would have done it, with things shaking out that a single point would clinch the title with (3) games left, but van Bommel is not one to play for a draw. With the first team exhausted from the trip to Munich the second team, including Lars Unnerstall, got a chance to seal a third league championship in a row. A 26th title would put them (7) short of Ajax’s record and just (2) short of the Eredivisie record also held by Ajax.

Sparta did their best, making PSV wait until 40’ to take a lead on a Steven Bergwijn goal, but they were not up to the task. PSV were dominant and the Philips Stadion filled with singing throughout the rest of the game. Even though they had a massive advantage in terms of possession they didn’t make it count until 80’ when Bart Ramselaar, now an almost forgotten man at PSV, scored to put the defending champions up 2-0. Ryan Gravenberch put a bow on his Player of The Match award with a goal at 85’ and that was it for the 2019-20 Eredivisie. The win would also tie Ajax for most league wins in a season with (30), and with (3) games left they were more than likely to set a new record.

Wow, shock result against Bayern. Didn’t see that coming. Congratulations on yet another league title.

Bayern who?

Well... my god... that is a decent result against Bayern!

2019-04-28 12:39#256357 Griffo : Well... my god... that is a decent result against Bayern!

I've had some pre-season games against semi-pro clubs / affiliates where it was like they had no idea what they were doing and it's just a shower of goals. That game seemed like that, they just couldn't do anything right. I was terrified of Neuer but it was like Jeroen Zoet took his place.

Champions League (H) : PSV 2(8) - Bayern Munich 1(1)


It would be extremely difficult for anyone to say that Bayern Munich could get out of the mess they created in the first leg, while it would seem that a 7-0 win would be possible if PSV could win 6-0 it was highly unlikely. Even the German media would have to admit that, more time was spent discussing when Niko Kovač should be fired than the actual game. Barring a complete and utter disaster, something Mark van Bommel has shown to be mostly immune to, this game was essentially pointless.

Any and all fantasies of Bayern Munich coming up with a (7) goal win were wiped out just 19’ into the game when Luuk de Jong broke to the near post for a low cross from Nick Viergever that was deftly redirected just inside the post for a 1-0 lead. The visitors put up more of a fight this time, but not much more. It was more like resignation than utter incompetence and PSV went into the half up 1-0.

The most exciting thing that happened in the second half, aside from some late game fireworks, was Manuel Neuer getting booked for handling the ball outside of the box. He argued with the ref and a number of players shared their opinion on the spot, but he was booked anyway. Niklas Süle managed to scrape together some respect in the 81’ as he scored on a corner, still (7) goals short this game was basically over. It didn’t help when César Montes returned the favor on a PSV corner in stoppage time, and the humiliation was finally complete.



While PSV fans were still celebrating they got some bad news that would recall the horrors of last season. With Liverpool, Barcelona, and Atlético Madrid left the Football Gods displayed more cruelty by drawing PSV with Atlético Madrid for the Semi-Final. Getting this far was incredible enough, but it would be hard to find any PSV fans that think Diego Simeone’s side would spot them a 6-0 lead heading into the second leg.



Eredivisie (A) : FC Utrecht 1 - PSV 4


Essentially a dead rubber, with PSV already champions, this game would essentially contribute to PSV’s drive to pass Ajax in the record books. It would also be a great opportunity to give the second team more reps and bring some younger players in. Philippe Wiltord would get the start at LB with Angeliño out yet again with an ankle injury, it seems that he has displaced Aziz Behich in the pecking order and should be in line for more starts next year.

PSV would make short work of FC Utrecht with Willian Arão starring and taking home the Player of The Match award. He would score twice, both Marlon Frey Specials that stunned the crowd. Even after going down 1-0 after 10’, PSV didn’t seem to care and just kept plugging away at the hosts. Three goals in the second half would allow PSV to assert themselves and paper over a frustratingly familiar occurrence. After getting booked already in the first half, Bruno Henrique got yet another double yellow at 50’ on a lazy challenge that basically amounted to kicking Giovanni Troupée in the ankle from behind. The 4-2-3 did it’s job and shut out FC Utrecht, but van Bommel would have some harsh words for Bruno Henrique after the game.

“There is no place for that here” said van Bommel when asked about the booking “and Bruno Henrique knows that.”

Sources inside the organization report that Bruno Henrique was warned over his conduct and that he took it well. The last thing van Bommel needs is for someone to turn into Nicolas Isimat-Mirin, PSV really needs to improve on the piling up of double yellow bookings. Slightly obscured by the drama was PSV pulling even with Ajax for record points in a season at (93) and passing them for most wins.

Bayern is a myth now. Well done.

I was looking at Zoet for my save... I certainly wont be trying him now haha

2019-04-30 11:35#256407 Griffo : I was looking at Zoet for my save... I certainly wont be trying him now haha

I mean, he's generally good, I just kept having him let in goals from long shots that shouldn't have been a problem. It was fine when I was winning 4-1, not cool in a tight UCL game.

Eredivisie (H) : PSV 1 - Ajax 0


If anyone thought this game would have less animosity because the league title had already been decided, they would be dead wrong. Mark van Bommel certainly came into this game with a burning passion, it’s well known that he doesn’t care for Ajax, but they have consistently been a problem during his tenure. The Ajax fans that made the trip were regularly reminded that PSV were already champions, this game would be all about bragging rights.

Vincenzo Montella would have a little trick up his sleeve in the form of a 4-1-4-1, a change to the usual 4-3-3 variant, not something van Bommel would be too concerned about but it showed that Ajax was pulling out all the stops.

The game itself was rather dull, the atmosphere created by the fans really elevated the experience but did little on the field. PSV opened the scoring 17’ in when an Antonio Marin cross was headed out, landed at Erick Gutiérrez’s feet and he passed it to Eugene Konoplyanka just outside the box who ran to the penalty spot unmarked and scored. Konoplyanka has recently become a master of finding a crease to the penalty spot, and Ajax was the victim today. For all the excitement the goal created, that was it for the game. Jack Butland continued to show his worth with a number of key saves late in the game to preserve the 1-0 lead. Both teams were fairly even statistically and few players really stood out, it was so dull that Antônio Carlos took the Player of The Match award with a 7.6 rating.

When the whistle blew it locked in PSV’s 24th straight league win and pushed them to a new league points total record (96) to pass Ajax. Now all of the attention would shift to the Atletico Madrid game, another trip to Madrid could be humiliating even though the previous trip this year turned into a huge win.

Eredivisie (H) : PSV 2 - Willem II 0


The PSV second team went out and played hard despite the opponent, this was a great opportunity for PSV to keep the foot on the gas while resting the first team for their Champions League matchup. Philippe Wiltord got the start again, it’s starting to look like he has a chance to supplant Angeliño next year.

It’s amazing that Willem II got out of this game by only allowing two goals. They seemed to come in resigned to losing and they were focused on getting lit up, a 4-1-3-1-1 packed the middle of the field and kept the back line protected while basically abandoning offense. Willem II were held to (0) shots, a really bad way to try and win a game, and PSV just poured it on while they desperately tried to keep it respectable. Maximiliano Romero scored at 11’ on a nice little exchange with Antonio Valencia lobbing the ball to him on the penalty spot, he chested the ball down and spun away from his defender to send a shot into the left side netting. VAR did Willem II no favors either, a cross from Wiltord to Bruno Henrique crashing the far post resulted in the ball sailing through and Bruno Henrique on the ground looking offended. The review ended in a penalty and Romero put it in to close out stoppage time 2-0. That was it for the game, Willem II parked the bus and kept it manageable.

The major significance of this game was PSV closing out a stunning 33-0-1 season on (99) points. They would have (4) players with (10) or more league goals. Maximiliano Romero (15) would lead the way as PSV’s wingers showed some offensive power behind Bruno Henrique (13), Steven Bergwijn (13), and Antonio Marin (10). The 2-0 would also seal the top offense with (108) goals scored, the top defense with (18) allowed. PSV would also finish with the unfortunate distinction of having the league’s worst disciplinary record by logging (84) yellow cards and (6) red cards, definitely something van Bommel will need to address going forward.


Champions League (A) : Atlético Madrid 0(0) - PSV 1(1)


Coming off a massive league season the PSV fans were rather chesty and turned out in force for this game, the visitors end was a sea of red and white stripes with a large group of fans bringing cut outs of Antonio Marin’s face to wave during the game. The home crowd was not impressed and a loud “Ya te jugamos” (We played you already) chant countered anything PSV fans had to say.

There were no tricks from Diego Simeone, he fielded a 4-4-2 and with Antoine Griezmann stalking the field he wouldn’t really need to do anything special. This was exactly the kind of scenario van Bommel and Toon Gerbrands were concerned about during the offseason, this is why they went out and got César Montes. Griezmann eviscerated PSV’s back line, specifically Nicolas Isimat-Mirin, so this game would be the perfect test. This was also the first time van Bommel’s approach to these games became obvious as he switched from an attacking approach to a more balanced approach, this tactical change was behind the destruction of Bayern Munich so it was an understandable change.

The tactical change not only worked well, it forced Atlético Madrid to be more aggressive and robbed them of the counter attacks they used so effectively against PSV last year. It’s unclear if it was van Bommel plan, but PSV also adopted another tactic to slow down Atlético Madrid; fouling. Griezmann and Diego Costa, much to his displeasure, got really familiar with being kicked and tripped almost as soon as they got the ball. It’s hard to believe a Simeone coached team ended up on the wrong end of a 22:9 foul tally, PSV managed (6) yellow cards but avoided having someone sent off.

The first half was very tense and turned into the Jan Oblak and Jack Butland show, both keepers were solid with Butland putting up some jaw dropping saves that kept PSV in the game. Butland even managed to stone Griezmann from point blank when he snuck in and looked like a lock to score, he was starting to give Antonio Marin a run for his money. It took some time for Atlético Madrid to get going as they slowly identified that PSV wasn’t going to come at them as aggressively and Griezmann wasn’t being left alone with tons of space. The first half ended 0-0 with both coaches looking cool and collected, but it was obvious that the score favored PSV. The only danger for van Bommel was leaving the away leg without a precious away goal.

The second half started much like the first ended with Atlético Madrid now firmly in control and moving forward more aggressively to work around PSV’s stance. Things had shifted a bit with Griezmann and Diego Costa coming deeper and passing forward to spring other players loose, the two combined for (8) key passes but couldn’t break through themselves. At 67’, The Legend expanded as Marin stunned the hosts with a goal to put the underdogs up 1-0 and suck the air out of Wanda Metropolitano Stadium. Tonny Vilhena took a pass from midfield after a throw in and threaded a pass between Rodri and Vitolo to find Marin cutting inside, he was met by José Giménez and Lucas Hernández coming inside while Luuk de Jong held Diego Godín in the middle of the field just on the edge of the box. When Hernandez and Gimenez closed in on him it left a crease to the right side of the goal from the top of the arc, Marin took a hard dipping shot that caught Oblak off guard as the ball dipped and bounced under his outstretched hands and tucked just inside the post. An inch or two in any direction, from Marin or Oblak, and it wouldn’t have gone in.

The rest of the game played out much like it had before the goal and Butland continued to be God like in his ability to keep Griezmann and Diego Costa off the score sheet. The whistle blew and suddenly Atlético Madrid found themselves having to chase PSV in the second leg. There wasn’t much concern from Simeone or the fans, this was hardly the 6-0 drubbing Bayern Munich took, and Atlético Madrid was more than capable of winning the next game by two or more. It wasn’t time to panic yet in Madrid, but it was time to celebrate in Eindhoven if you were a fan.



Adding to the excitement was PSV’s U-19 team winning the UEFA Youth League with a 3-1 win over the Benfica U-19 squad in the final. This felt like justice after losing to Manchester United’s U-23 team last year, paired with Jong PSV’s insane 38-0-0 championship season the future seems very bright in Eindhoven. The Jong PSV squad were do dominant that they won the league by (48) points, leaving FC Eindhoven and the rest of the league in the dust long before the season was over.

Excellent going so far, and goodluck in the second leg.