At PSV they can only count on favorable reactions after winning the Johan Cruijff Scale. The team of trainer Roger Schmidt was 0-4 too strong for Ajax in the Johan Cruijff ArenA, which had to continue on the stroke of half-time with one man less after Nicolás Tagliafico was shown red. The ESPN analysts not only enjoyed Noni Madueke, who had an important part in the victory with two hits, but also praised Mario Götze. The German provided the final chord with a beautiful goal.
“Whether our level has increased? I agree with that,” Götze said himself after the game in front of the cameras of ESPN. “Last year was of course special with the coronavirus and playing without an audience. Now we have grown. We have got good players and were able to work on details. The coach also needed time to get his philosophy in. game. We are in good shape. But we know that the season is long. It is important to get through this month well.”
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Götze perhaps provided the best goal of the evening, when he was served by substitute Yorbe Vertessen in the final phase, moved in and found the right intersection for the fourth Eindhoven goal. “It is very important for PSV that he stays fit”, Marciano Vink said afterwards. “I don’t see anyone in the selection who can bring what he brings to the number ten position. He brings a lot of extras to this team.” Kenneth Perez saw a dominant Götze against Ajax. “He really played on his slippers.”
Arnold Bruggink also enjoyed the way Götze played. “Even in the final phase of the match, he comes in the box,” Bruggink says. “He has such a good sense of situations, he does a lot on intuition. He pulls the game to himself and then it doesn’t matter to him. Then he makes football seem so incredibly easy. When he gets between the lines it becomes “It is really very simple for him. He is really a player of the outside category for PSV, especially now. The way he plays football today, really wonderful. He knows what has to happen in such a second half.”