PSV wants to continue with the choice and does not stand in the way of the departure of 'clubman'

Great surprise at the behavior of Mohamed Ihattaren on the field against Granada

Sunday, October 25, 2020 at

Mohamed Ihattaren did not make a good turn this week in PSV’s matches against Granada (1-2 defeat) and Vitesse (2-1 defeat), the analysts say. Rondo Sunday night. The attacking midfielder got a starting place in both games, but in the program his fitness and his contribution to the team are questioned. Marco van Basten does not think that Ihattaren deserves his starting place at the moment. Jack van Gelder and Jan van Halst are very surprised about Ihattaren’s goodbye on the field against Granada.

Van Basten saw the eighteen-year-old PSV player ‘toiling’ in the match against Vitesse. “But he can’t figure it out, is he?”, The former football player wonders aloud. When Youri Mulder points out that Ihattaren may need time and have to play more games to get into the right rhythm, Van Basten does not want to be there. “How much time does that take? You have to force those matches in practice. He’s now lucky that he played, because a lot of guys are not there, but I don’t think he deserves to have a starting place now. You see the same with Orkun Kökcü (van Feyenoord, ed.). These are two young boys who were very good for corona, but are now not at all fit and trained. “

Mulder found the performance of Ihattaren against Granada ‘poignant’, especially before Darwin Machís 1-2, halfway through the second half. At half of the opponent, Ihattaren’s teammate Denzel Dumfries tried to send in depth on the right flank, but his through ball missed the right direction and was intercepted by Machís. The left winger immediately sprinted to the enemy half; Ihattaren made a failed attempt to stop the left winger with a sliding, after which he could no longer make a defensive contribution. Machís pulled in and found the top right corner from the edge of the penalty area with a firing shot.

“He lost the ball and then did his best with side slides, but he just has to keep walking”, Mulder remarks, after which Van Basten indicates that Ihattaren simply was not able to do that. “He can’t keep that up, man!” Van Halst states that Ihattaren used to ‘defend alibi’. Jack van Gelder adds that there was also talk of ‘being played on an alibi’ by the PSV youngster. “I paid particular attention to him because I think he is an extraordinary talent. He runs very often in cover, which is of course very easy. He pretends to be free, but cannot be played. He pretends to play the ball forward, but that rarely happens. He actually had to get behind the two strikers; he never came there. ”

Ihattaren’s persistent dip in shape hurts Van Basten to see. “Due to circumstances, he is in that position, but it is not deserved. He does not live up to it. I find that very striking. He could play great: he had an overview, technique, everything”, the analyst sums up. That things are not quite right at PSV, and Roger Schmidt’s 4-2-2-2 system is not yet producing the desired result, Van Basten does not charge the people of Eindhoven as much. “These are also difficult times. Normally there is much more of a preparation period, in which you can test all kinds of players and sharpen a playing style. Now there are also players who are not there every time because of the corona virus. That is difficult.”