PSV qualified for the play-offs of the Champions League at the expense of AS Monaco on Tuesday evening. The team of coach Ruud van Nistelrooij needed an extension to shake off the Monegasque. In the end, Luuk de Jong became the match winner. The striker was perfectly served by Jordan Teze and hit the second post. The latter couldn’t believe his luck in front of the cameras of ESPN.
PSV had a much harder time with the visitors after a strong first half. Guillermo Maripán and Wissam Ben Yedder reversed Joey Veerman’s opening goal. In the final minute, however, it was Érick Gutiérrez who dragged out an extension, after which De Jong carried out the sentence. “A small moment can decide a match. Look, hoppa”, says a cheerful Teze at ESPN when he sees the images again. “If you give Luuk a ball like that, you know it’s a hit. I knew this could be a moment to score.”
The perfectly measured pass was Teze’s last effort, he admitted afterwards. “Of course I am tired. This is my first time at PSV that I play 120 minutes. I have never done that before. We knew it was going to be a tough pot, but we are especially happy with the win. I have always believed in a good result. Of course it was difficult, especially in the second half. They kept pushing, but I knew we only needed one moment for him to have a good fall in the box and that moment came.”
?? ‘LUUK, LUUK, LUUK’ ??#PSVMON pic.twitter.com/cCwtUhtosB
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) August 9, 2022
Five minutes before the end, PSV seemed to have to acknowledge his previous in Monaco, which was leading 1-2 and had the better of the game. “Monaco can play football very well, they continuously find the right spaces. Then you are pushed backwards. But I think we did well. Walter (Benítez, ed.) has made a number of good saves,” said Teze. “We said to each other: ‘We just have to break down on the field. We have to continue until we can’t anymore’. We did that. I was also very tired. I also got cramps. But mentally I stayed upright. paid.”