PSV won 2-0 on visit to Willem II, thundering on undisturbed. Peter Bosz admitted that his team needs to perform better against compactly playing opponents, but called the victory deserved.
Have you seen the higher level you were hoping for and see at training sessions, for example?
"You have to remember that for the second time now we are playing against a team that defends very compactly in front of their sixteen. The spaces are very small then and you have to play football through that. They don't take much initiative themselves, but they do defend well. Playing through them has to be better and at a higher tempo. It's always easy to say that, though, because in these kinds of games you also depend on individual quality."
You chose a different lineup today. Why
"I felt that Pepi deserved to play and that he should show it; he certainly did. I also see on the training sessions that Perišić is ready. These choices are not based on the fact that others are bad, but because these things are starting to present themselves."
Pepi, who has little match rhythm, does manage to play a good game again. How do you view that?
"He is a very good player, but he is unlucky to have a phenom in front of him. Goals, captain, top fitness and assists; Luuk has it all. However, I thought this was the right time to let Pepi play as well, now that there are only two days between today's game and Tuesday's."
How are you looking at the substitutions of Noa and Rick?
"I'm building up with these guys in particular, so that at some point they can play ninety minutes. They are not there yet. You're puzzling and mostly giving minutes where needed so they get used to that match load again."
Did you see any improvement in the game today if you look at last week?
"We were not yet good enough to completely shatter Willem II's block, even though we have the quality to do so. This is what we are going to talk about, because I expect more teams to set up like this against us. Our defense will be put to the test through counters, so then we will have to have the remaining defense in order."
Finally, how do you look at the last period?
"We're on top, have 21 points with a goal difference of +21 so I think that's pretty good. The guys who got minutes again, some good substitutions, a strong Walter keeping the zero and the three points; that's positive."