Thursday, February 17, 2022 at 8:33 PM• Dominic Mostert • Last update: 20:36

PSV took the first step towards the eighth finals of the Conference League on Thursday evening. In the intermediate round of the third European club tournament, Roger Schmidt’s team won 1-0 against Maccabi Tel Aviv from Israel. The only goal of the game was scored in the first half by Cody Gakpo. Given the small difference, reaching the next round is certainly not yet a fait accompli for PSV.

PSV had to miss no fewer than eight players for various reasons: three players are suspended, five are struggling with an injury. Armando Obispo seemed to make it to the match, but turned out not to be fit. Due to personnel problems, Philipp Max, normally a left back, was standing. PSV had some trouble getting into their own rhythm, because the home team got little space from the fierce Maccabi. After ten minutes the team from Eindhoven managed to break open the game. The first serious shot delivered a goal: Mauro Júnior stabbed Cody Gakpo, after which the attacker entered the box, cut out defender Idan Nachmias and found the left corner.

Moments later, Mauro almost delivered another assist. His measured pass resulted in a header opportunity for Noni Madueke, who came well in front of his man and nodded towards the ground. Goalkeeper Daniel Peretz of Maccabi prevented the 2-0 with a great save. He also had a good response to a headbutt by Érick Gutiérrez from a corner from Gakpo. PSV often kept possession of the ball and patiently looked for an opening. However, it became especially dangerous from free kicks. Perez clamped down on a hard shot from Max from a great distance; Eran Zahavi just fired. Maccabi countered one free kick: number 10 Dan Bitton forced Joël Drommel to save in the short corner.

In the second half, PSV often looked in vain for openings. Maccabi was regularly on the field with ten men and kept the rows as close as possible. The substitutions also took the tempo out of the game somewhat. Eight minutes after the break, Madueke shot into the side net after Gakpo’s preparatory work in the penalty area; Nineteen minutes before time, a low shot from Zahavi sailed past. Late revival of PSV also did not result in the 2-0.