It took a while for PSV to loosen up, but thanks to Ibrahim Sangaré the team won Sunday night against Sparta Rotterdam after all. After a tough battle, PSV emerged victorious, thanks to the outstanding Ivorian, and climbed to second place in the Eredivisie.
Fierce start
PSV started the match brightly. Sparta's goalkeeper Maduka Okoye was put to work in the 11th minute after a first attempt by Ibrahim Sangaré. The midfielder shot the ball, after a good cross from Eran Zahavi, hard into the right corner. The goalkeeper was able to prevent the goal, but the team kept trying. Another chance followed not a minute later, again for Sangaré. The Ivorian headed the ball well toward the net, but it too was blocked. PSV then kept up the pressure and became dangerous through captain Marco van Ginkel. He missed, however.
Good atmosphere
PSV gave almost nothing away in the first half hour and the crowd enjoyed themselves immensely. The fans sang fanatically as they watched the team launch one ball after another towards the Sparta penalty area. The Rotterdammers were unable to create any major chances, mainly because they defended compactly and in a group. There were no goals, however, as a good shot during one of the Sparta breakaways was disallowed for hands.
Chance after chance
After halftime, PSV picked up the thread. Soon after the restart, Sangaré shot over and Ritsu Doan shot the ball into the upper left corner, where again Okoye just managed to tap the ball out. Gakpo started his attack after which he was brought down by a Sparta player. The Rotterdammers were shown a yellow card and a free kick. That created another good chance for Zahavi. He almost got an acrobatic ball past Okoye, but saw his effort hit the inside of the post. Phillipp Mwene almost managed to break the spell with a sharp cross to Zahavi who headed the ball dangerously toward goal. Ternouwernly the ball went wide. Tension ran high and the crowd encouraged the team with loud chants. "Come on PSV!" swirled through the Philips Stadium.
Super Sangaré
Finally, Sangaré broke the spell. The midfielder managed to get around the defenders and shot the ball hard into the crossbar from the middle. The crowd had not yet recovered with joy when Ryan Thomas made it 2-0 five minutes later. After a tight cross from Cody Gakpo, he was sharp in finishing. For Thomas, it was a special moment. It was his first goal after a long period of injury. PSV could catch their breath again and Zahavi was substituted for Yorbe Vertessen amid loud clapping. Not much later Sparta got the ball and PSV's defenders failed to block in time. In the end, PSV came close to scoring the 3-1, but failed to score the goal. The game full of chances ended in 2-1. With this, the club climbed to the second position after losing points to rivals in the Eredivisie.