Wim Kieft questions the match approach of PSV coach Roger Schmidt against Real Sociedad. A draw was enough for the Eindhoven players to spend the winter in the Europa League, but took the initiative and got the lid on their nose. Mario Götze also does not get off well in Kieft ‘s column in De Telegraaf .
PSV lost 3-0 to Real Sociedad on Thursday evening and has therefore been sentenced to the intermediate round of the Conference League. ‘Schmidt said afterwards that PSV has no team to defend. But PSV didn’t have to defend at all because Real Sociedad was not ready to attack,” Kieft writes. ‘We don’t know exactly what Schmidt’s orders are. PSV was in the starting position to wait quietly, to play compact, not to give away any space and to strike in the switch. You can blame Schmidt for not happening.’
Götze was unable to make the difference in Estadio Anoeta. According to Kieft, the German midfielder is often invisible in the matches that really matter. “When he has to take the lead, he mostly hides. Götze went deep once and then his lack of speed was painfully exposed against a not so fast Spaniard at all. After the deception at Real Sociedad, it was far too easy for Götze to blame the elimination on the referee. He didn’t make a strong turn with that.’
Despite the disappointing European performance, PSV is still participating on three fronts. ‘It is lucky that the title aspirations have been kept alive by Ajax, which dropped points against Heracles Almelo and Go Ahead Eagles. If you compare the drive and quality of Ajax against Sporting Portugal against PSV, then that makes a world of difference. Can be compared with the contrast between Steven Berghuis and Götze.’
