Johan Derksen and René van der Gijp are not pleased with Roger Schmidt’s substitution policy in the match between PSV and Benfica (0-0) in the last Champions League preliminary round. In particular, his choice to replace Noni Madueke for Yorbe Vertessen twenty minutes before the end cannot count on support. The analysts of Veronica Inside believe that a player with the qualities of Madueke should always stand, if a goal is to be scored.
Van der Gijp does not hesitate when Wilfred Genee asks whether Madueke’s change was ‘logical’. “No, of course not. He didn’t play well, but no matter how you look at it, he is someone who constantly poses a threat. You let him stand. You get your goals off the field, you shouldn’t do that.” emphasizes the former football player of PSV. “He can decide a match at any time on a whim,” Derksen added. The best chance of the game was for Eran Zahavi, who shot the ball against the crossbar just in front of the goal. “They gave that Zahavi an astronomical salary to shoot that opportunity. It just has to go in, ready.” According to previous reports, Zahavi will receive an annual salary of 2.5 million euros, excluding bonuses.
What an opportunity for PSV! Gakpo takes off after a mistake by Vertonghen, but Zahavi forgets to shoot the ball against the ropes. #psvben #UCL pic.twitter.com/PeE62av1hw
— VTBL ? (@vtbl) August 24, 2021
After the game, Schmidt reiterated his wish to bring in a new striker. “Physical strength in the offensive part would be nice,” he said at the press conference. Derks was disturbed by those statements. “I’m tired of him whining about a physically strong striker immediately after the game. Then you should have won. Then you would have done forty million euros, then you could have got Luuk de Jong. Just win, you have to do it earn for themselves,” the analyst judges. Van der Gijp is less critical. “This is pretty out of your control. Of the 180 minutes they have been much better for 160 minutes. In 20 minutes you leave it. That is a real shame.”
“Benfica is standing with ten men for an hour, then you have to waltz over it, right?” counters Derksen. “When you hear that man talk, you think: would he have played football? He doesn’t talk about switching like a former football player. You know: a player with extreme individual qualities always lets you down, even if he fails once. type like Bruma is not going to save you, but Madueke can.” On the whole, Derksen is not yet convinced by Schmidt, who has started his second season in Eindhoven.
“That man was brought here as the great savior, because he had the ultimate ideas and invented it. He mainly caused confusion last year. He won the Johan Cruijff Scale with a good victory over Ajax, I can’t deny him that “He is now out of the Champions League. In order to save his skin and maintain his status, he will have to become the real champion of the Netherlands. All his own ideas and the exchanges have yielded almost nothing.”