Roger Schmidt is full of praise for Ibrahim Sangaré, who brilliantly gave PSV the lead on Saturday in the home game against Vitesse (2-0) in the Eredivisie. The trainer of the Eindhoven club has always been convinced of the midfielder’s qualities, although he can see that the Ivorian has developed. After the competition match in Eindhoven, Schmidt was asked why Sangaré is so important in his system. “Ibrahim Sangaré is important in any system. It has nothing to do with a system.”
“He has everything a central midfielder needs. He could win balls for a long time, but now he makes better decisions and uses his ability to dribble,” Schmidt was quoted as saying by the Eindhovens Dagblad. “For that he had to hold the ball a little longer. Sometimes he is just unstoppable. He really grows into a very crucial player for us. He is better on the ball, makes fewer mistakes and plays forward more often. Last season he could be characterized as a player with quite a few lateral and backward passes during the game and that is a lot easier.”
Ibrahim Sangaré puts PSV ahead with this wonderful volley ?? ?? ESPN #?? #psvvit pic.twitter.com/JEYNWtN3ys
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) Nov 20, 2021
“Passing forward is more difficult, but you have to show that at the top level. He does that now.” PSV took over Sangaré from Toulouse in the summer of 2020 for almost ten million euros, but after his first season there were doubts. This season, Sangaré seems to live up to expectations and he also scores remarkably often. After a goal in his first year in Eindhoven, the counter is already at three this season.
Where Sangaré is a fixed value at PSV, that does not apply to Érick Gutiérrez. Nevertheless, the Mexican played on Saturday instead of Marco van Ginkel, who according to Schmidt ‘is of course an important player for PSV’. “A very important one, but it was already clear that he would not play everything when he became captain. We are overjoyed that Marco is back as a professional player, really. At the beginning of the season, his condition was very good and he was very reliable in every way for our level.”
“It was clear to me from the start that we would have to take him out every now and then during the season. Ibrahim and Guti played well as a duo in the previous matches. Van Ginkel remains a very important man for us, who will often be in action for us this season. In any case, there is no problem in this regard.” It was the first time since the away match against AZ (0-3) on 11 September that PSV did not concede a goal in an Eredivisie match. PSV have now won three games in a row.
“Of the last thirteen matches we only played one bad game and that was against Ajax. And against Feyenoord twenty minutes were not good,” continued Schmidt. “Overall, the team is doing well. We deserve to be where we are now.” The victory over Vitesse put PSV at the top of the Eredivisie.The lead over Ajax is three points, but the team from Amsterdam will play against RKC Waalwijk on Sunday and also have a much better goal difference.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PSV | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 30 |
| 2 | Ajax | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 35 | 27 |
| 3 | Feyenoord | 11 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 25 |
| 4 | FC Utrecht | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 23 |
| 5 | Vitesse | 13 | 7 | 1 | 5 | -7 | 22 |
| 6 | FC Twente | 13 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 21 |
| 7 | NEC | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | -2 | 18 |
| 8 | SC Cambuur | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | -5 | 18 |
| 9 | William II | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | -5 | 18 |
| 10 | Go Ahead Eagles | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | -5 | 17 |
| 11 | AZ | 11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 15 |
| 12 | sc Heerenveen | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | -5 | 14 |
| 13 | Heracles Almelo | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | -5 | 11 |
| 14 | RKC Waalwijk | 12 | 2 | 5 | 5 | -3 | 11 |
| 15 | Fc Groningen | 12 | 2 | 5 | 5 | -8 | 11 |
| 16 | Sparta Rotterdam | 13 | 2 | 4 | 7 | -9 | 10 |
| 17 | Fortuna Sittard | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -12 | 9 |
| 18 | PEC Zwolle | 12 | 1 | 1 | 10 | -15 | 4 |