On the day of Willy van der Kuijlen's funeral, PSV won over FC Groningen at Philips Stadium. Eran Zahavi scored the only goal of the match. After halftime, the technical refereeing in particular claimed a leading role. PSV scored four goals, but could only really cheer once.
Mister PSV
Before the start of the game it was already clear that PSV - FC Groningen would be a special match. Of course because supporters were welcome at Philips Stadium for the first time in seven months, but above all because extensive attention was paid to the death of Mister PSV, Willy van der Kuijlen. The flowers and banners, silent witnesses to the funeral ceremony earlier in the day and the deafening minute's silence were, without exception, equally impressive.
Gakpo and Malen close
The four thousand PSV supporters who held their jaws tightly together shortly before kickoff saw PSV get off to a fierce start. Cody Gakpo shot devastatingly at the crossbar from an almost impossible position and Donyell Malen missed face to face with goalkeeper Padt. Eran Zahavi also took the goal - unsuccessfully - under fire. FC Groningen, which retreated into a group and played in a disciplined manner, was dangerous on a number of occasions from standard situations. There was therefore no scoring before halftime.
Strong second half
Cold in the second half, the visitors almost took the lead. El Messaoudi was allowed to lay in in PSV's 16-meter area and found the post with his shot. The Groninger then saw PSV go full steam ahead for almost the entire second half, forcing Gakpo Padt to save, then a cross went just past Zahavi's shoes. That was not the case after 55 minutes. The Israeli was the terminus of a flashy PSV attack, also scored, but his goal was rightly cancelled by VAR because the ball had been out of play earlier.
Zahavi makes fans cheer
Just under 10 minutes later, PSV and Zahavi were on the right track. This time VAR detected a handball in the visitors' penalty area, which earned PSV a penalty kick that the striker capitalized on. After that 1-0, PSV and especially Gakpo looked in vain for a second goal. Offside software first stood in the way of the Eindhoven player and later Padt did the same. Malen then also had to deal with the offside software, nevertheless the supporters celebrated a three-peat.
