PSV recorded a miraculous victory over FC Basel on Tuesday night. Mark van Bommel's team seemed defeated, but recovered and won in the closing stages. It caused euphoria among players, supporters and in the media. We look back.
'From penury to modest polonaise'
The Eindhovens Dagblad found PSV coming out fresh and sparkling on Tuesday night, but also noted that the laws of European football still apply. 'As so often in European duels, one chance for Basel was enough to obliterate the true balance of power on the scoreboard even before halftime,' the paper writes. 'The sights already seemed almost set on qualification for the group stage of the Europa League, but a new Champions League ambition is still very realistic. The 3-2 victory must have felt like a resounding triumph for the Eindhoven side, after the 1-2 shortly before time had still felt like a sledgehammer blow and could have given the team a nosedive in addition to all the transfer woes,' it added afterwards. Read more here.
'Reaction crowd most beautiful'
Several media outlets recorded from Mark van Bommel's mouth that he thought the reaction of the supporters in the Philips Stadium, after the 1-2, was the most beautiful. "They lifted us over the 1-2. We won together," the head coach also said on PSV.nl last night. Read his reaction and that of match-winner Donyell Malen here.
Swiss media mourn
The tenor in the Swiss media is negative. Almost all agree that PSV deservedly won last night against FC Basel, although with two away goals there is perspective. 'But PSV is so strong in the forwards that one goal probably won't be enough,' Blick thinks. Le Matin thinks pretty much the same. 'If Switzerland is the land of banks, Basel thought long and hard about making a perfect raid on Tuesday,' it writes. 'PSV dominated, but Marcel Koller's team was still ahead 1-2 in the 89th minute. Nevertheless, the Eindhoveners still booked a deserved victory. Basel has no choice but to attack for the home game: it must win to continue its Champions League adventure.' Voetbal International has listed more reactions for you.
'For those Swiss it was gasping for breath'
PSV did not make a good impression throughout the match, but when the front line was reached the team came loose, according to VI watcher Reon Boeringa. "When PSV went full throttle and really started to flash, it was gasping for breath for the Swiss. On every position the team has a better player than FC Basel," he said in conversation with VI Radio.
Pieter Zwart analyzes 'new' PSV
On VI PRO, Pieter Zwart extensively analyzes the weapons of the new PSV, which with four water-fast attackers can make any opponent shiver. Although there is a very real chance that players from the quartet of Bruma, Malen, Bergwijn and Lozano will still leave, the outline of the new attack without De Jong seems to give PSV hope. 'With them, Mark van Bommel has four attackers who reinforce each other in possession,' Black writes. 'For now, Luuk de Jong 's biggest shortcoming seems to be in his defensive work ethic, but there must be a solution to that.' Here, Zwart explains what the defensive deficit is.
Lammers wanted to prove himself
In the wake of the quartet, Sam Lammers was incredibly important for PSV last night. The striker came into the field in the closing stages, made war and led the turnaround against FC Basel with a beautiful header. "That one was nicely in," he told EDTV. "I was sharp and eager to show myself. I only had one thought: score."
