Head coach Phillip Cocu looked back with pride at the post-match press conference on an evening that PSV supporters will long remember. Cocu's team played as a team and won 2-1 against Manchester United. A wonderful return to the UEFA Champions League, Cocu thought. "It gives a great feeling to return on this stage like this," Cocu told me. "I am more than proud."
Phillip Cocu: Real team performance
"We really put in a team performance today. We really played like guys," the head coach analyzed his team's play. "Even after the 0-1, we kept confidence in the way we played. We focused on the chances through the flanks that did come. We were well organized and didn't even give away that many chances. Of course the pressure from Manchester United was great, but we handled that well. The players showed that when you believe in it, you can achieve something." Cocu was additionally asked about Héctor Moreno's action, in which left back Luke Shaw was seriously injured. "I feel bad about that, too," Cocu told me honestly. "When someone goes off like that, it's always terrible. Our own players feel that too. Moreno doesn't feel comfortable about it, because it was never his intention to injure Shaw. He experienced it himself last season at the World Cup in Brazil so he would never do something like that on purpose."
Louis van Gaal: Fantastic for PSV
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal was mostly asked about that same action at the Philips Stadium. According to van Gaal, it was a penalty, but he did not want to dwell on it too much. "If I say it was a penalty and red, everyone thinks I'm a bad loser. Therefore, I don't want to put too much emphasis on it. Moreno is not a hard player," was all Van Gaal wanted to say about Moreno's action. At the same time, he congratulated PSV on the win. "PSV delivered a great performance against a strong Manchester United. We had the chance to decide the game at 0-1, but we didn't. We can only blame ourselves for this loss. We created enough chances and could have scored many more goals, but PSV was effective tonight. They scored twice while barely getting in front of the goal. It's fantastic for PSV and the fans of PSV," Van Gaal assessed.