Wesley Sneijder is not pleased with the contribution of Ibrahim Sangaré in the first half of the match between Benfica and PSV in the last preliminary round of the Champions League. ‘s analyst RTL7 argues in favor of replacing Sangaré with Davy Pröpper at the start of the second half, although trainer Roger Schmidt has not opted for that. At halftime, PSV is 2-0 behind in Estádio da Luz, thanks to goals from Rafa Silva and Julian Weigl.
“I think so”, Sneijder responds when asked whether Pröpper should come within the lines. “You have to play football, create speed in midfield and let that ball go. Our great friend Sangaré conquers them very quickly, but hands them in just as quickly. It is unprecedented. He conquers them fantastically, but then thinks: what should I do? me with it? That inaccuracy is not possible. There just has to be Pröpper. You have to play football and lure them. You have to make sure the ball gets behind the last line at Benfica.” However, Schmidt did not make any changes at the start of the second half.
An early damper for PSV. Benfica takes the lead via Rafa Silva, who calmly slides the ball past Drommel into the goal. #UCL #benpsv pic.twitter.com/NAxoYdJUv2
— VTBL ? (@vtbl) August 18, 2021
Of all the players on the field, Sangaré won by far the most possession for his team (twelve times), but lost the ball ten times; only Noni Madueke (fourteen times) suffered more loss of possession for PSV. Cody Gakpo also lost the ball ten times. “What I personally think is that the wrong players get to the ball. You don’t see the football and the pressure on the last line,” says Jan Boskamp. Sneijder notes that Benfica’s early 1-0 was ‘natural’ a blow. “But then PSV continues with what they were doing: luring Benfica a bit. They are quite compact. The times that Benfica puts high pressure, PSV gets space behind the defense.”
“PSV should have made more use of that. They don’t really create chances. It is 2-0, but I think it’s a flattering 2-0,” concludes Sneijder. In the tenth minute the ball came through Pizzi to Roman Yaremchuk, who in turn reached Rafa Silva. The PSV defenders always came a step too late and watched as Rafa Silva aimed the ball low into the right corner; Joël Drommel was a toe-length short to stop the ball with his outstretched leg. The 2-0 followed shortly before half-time. The ball came from a corner to Weigl, who was able to hit high from close range.