PSV Aim to Mark 20th Champions League Campaign with Shakhtar Win
PSV Eindhoven begin their Champions League campaign against Shakhtar Donetsk at the Philips Stadion believing they are better equipped than they were a year ago, with Peter Bosz urging his Dutch champions to match their improved football with the sharper edge required in Europe.
The match marks PSV’s 20th appearance in the competition’s main stage, moving them beyond Ajax’s total of 19. It also offers the chance to end an unwelcome sequence: PSV have been beaten in each of their previous five Champions League opening fixtures.
Bosz said his team’s progress over the past 12 months has been clear. “We are much further along than we were at this point last season,” he said. “The football is better, although the Champions League requires us to raise the level again.”
The 62-year-old has not set a public target for PSV’s league-phase finish, preferring to treat the campaign match by match. His immediate concern is that his players bring the necessary concentration and intensity to a demanding first European night in Eindhoven.
Shakhtar arrive with a squad built around Brazilian talent and leading Ukrainian players, while the clubs’ previous meeting at the Philips Stadion remains fresh in the memory. PSV were 2-0 down late in their 2024 contest before scoring three times after the 86th minute to take a remarkable 3-2 win.
Goals have been a regular feature of PSV’s recent Champions League matches, with 44 scored across their last 10 games in the competition. Bosz will nevertheless place greater value on a controlled display and the three points that would provide a strong start to the new campaign.
Bosz defends Van Bommel
Bosz also addressed the reaction to Ruben van Bommel’s controversial tackle, backing the young PSV player and arguing that the debate has become disproportionate. He said he had deliberately avoided treating Van Bommel differently after the incident, believing extra attention would only make the situation bigger.
The PSV manager said he was pleased that the opposing player is recovering well, but criticised what he saw as an imbalance in the public response. Bosz pointed to previous injuries involving PSV players that, in his view, prompted far less outrage.
“The media reaction has become absurd,” Bosz said. “It was an incident during a match, and this discussion should now stop for Ruben’s sake.”
