Luuk de Jong looks back on the group stage of the Europa League with a good feeling. On Thursday evening, PSV managed to beat Bodö/Glimt with 1-2, although the victory turned out not to be enough for the first place in Group A. Because the Eindhoven players finished second behind Arsenal, they will have to play an intermediate round after the winter break to qualify for the eighth final of the Europa League. De Jong hopes to draw Sevilla or Barcelona.
“We knew it would be difficult here,” De Jong says in front of the camera afterwards Veronica. “Bodö is a team that plays on artificial grass and likes to play football, but all in all we have achieved a solid victory. The artificial grass always takes some getting used to and you notice it especially in the speed of the ball. A team that always plays on that will benefit from that. That makes sense. Still, I think we created enough chances and played well at times,” said the striker.
De Jong clearly has his preference in terms of opponent and hopes that a former employer will come forward during the draw: Sevilla or Barcelona. “Of course there are nice teams. If you get a Barcelona or Seville that would be nice. I had a lovely time there, so it would be nice to return there. We want to get as far as possible, so a slightly easier opponent might be nicer. But if all possible opponents come from the Champions League, that is probably not the case,” concludes De Jong.
The draw for the Europa League play-offs will take place on Monday 7 November from 1 p.m. PSV will face a tough opponent, as the club will be linked to a number three from the Champions League. Possible opponents are: Bayer Leverkusen (Germany), FC Barcelona (Spain), Sporting CP (Portugal), RB Salzburg (Austria), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), Sevilla (Spain) and Juventus (Italy).