Eran Zahavi was worth gold for PSV on Wednesday evening with a hat trick and a wonderful assist. The team of trainer Roger Schmidt was 5-1 too strong for Galatasaray in the second qualifying round of the Champions League. Although he was the great star, Zahavi especially wanted to look at the team performance of the Eindhoven team. “Every goal was a special moment, but the most important thing is that today we took a big step forward in our team spirit,” the Israeli emphasized.
“It’s always nice to score goals, but Mario’s goal was a nice combination,” Zahavi said on the 3-1, in which he had a large share with a nice heel on Mario Götze. “It was a nice move. It’s an honor to play alongside Mario, he makes life a lot easier. I’m happy.” His hat-trick had little to do with the somewhat changed playing style compared to last season. “Last season I also felt good in the striker. It doesn’t matter much to me.”
WHAT. A. GOAL! Eran Zahavi’s assist, finishing Mario Götze. ?? A goal of great beauty and PSV make it 3-1. #UCL #PSVGAL pic.twitter.com/yhJOgBsuNq
— VTBL ? (@vtbl) July 21, 2021
Zahavi thought it was especially special to play for supporters. After all, 23,500 supporters were welcome in the Philips Stadium. “We felt a special atmosphere here from the warm-up. I think we showed great team spirit on the pitch. This is the way we want to play.”
Zahavi chose to stay with PSV this summer, despite his family being mugged at home. “Because I’m happy at the club and I think we have a good team. Last season was difficult, but I’m sure this season will be very different.” PSV aspires to participate in the main tournament of the Champions League. “I’ve played it twice, I know how special it is. But you have to suffer to get there, it won’t be easy. A tough fight awaits us in Turkey as well.”
Schmidt was very satisfied with PSV’s performance. “We played as we wanted and did it for 90 minutes. We never stopped hunting, were always active and captured a lot of balls. Galatasaray therefore had few opportunities. Tonight it was important to handle the chances well, as that was sometimes a problem in the previous season. Now it was different. This is a good result.”
Although PSV may lose by three goals in the return in Istanbul next week, Schmidt did not want to count himself rich. “We should never underestimate a Turkish team. We had home field advantage tonight and everyone saw how fantastic our fans were. We expect the same in Istanbul. We have to enjoy this evening and then prepare for the return.”