Showing posts with label PSV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PSV. Show all posts

Wednesday, 16 September 2015

van Gaal Suffers at PSV


Manchester United suffered a 2-1 defeat to PSV Eindhoven and lost Luke Shaw to a double leg fracture on their return to Champions League action.

In what was United's first match in the competition proper since April 2014,play was stopped for almost 10 minutes as Shaw received treatment following Hector Moreno's heavy tackle.

The England full-back was taken from the field on a stretcher in the 25th minute but it did not seem to hamper the visitors and they took the lead through former PSV star Memphis Depay's 41st minute strike.

However, their lead did not last long as Moreno levelled the scores during the lengthy period of stoppage time at the end of the first half.

After the break, United dominated possession but they found themselves behind after Maxime Lestienne's early cross found Luciano Narsingh at the far post in the 56th minute and he made no mistake, sealing all three points for the Dutch side.

After his heroics on debut against Liverpool, Anthony Martial was handed his first United start and he got an early chance to stretch his legs, running at the heart of the PSV defence before misplacing an attempted pass to Memphis.

The pair combined again in the seventh minute with Memphis firing a low cross to Martial at the near post, however the Frenchman could not get enough power on his shot to trouble Jeroen Zoet.

United's early dominance was stalled when Shaw, making his Champions League debut, burst into the PSV penalty area on a trademark run before going down under a challenge from Moreno, who got both the ball and the man.

Play was then suspended for almost 10 minutes as Shaw, who was caught by Moreno's trailing leg, received treatment for a double fracture of the leg before being stretchered off the field to a standing ovation from the Philips Stadion.

The injury seemed to dampen the atmosphere inside the stadium and both sets of players took a while to get going after seeing Shaw - who will be a huge miss for both United and England - leave the field.

Marcos Rojo came on in place of Shaw and went straight into the heart of United's defence with Daley Blind switching to left-back and they were tested straight away as Joshua Brenet slipped Narsingh in behind the United defence, but he could not time his run and was adjudged offside.

PSV were growing in confidence but it was the Dutch club's former favourite Memphis who broke the deadlock in the 41st minute, skipping past the challenges of Santiago Arias and Jeffrey Bruma before firing a low shot past Zoet.

Minutes later, the Netherlands international could have made it two but flashed a shot wide of the far post before Zoet produced a smart save to deny Chris Smalling.

All eyes were on the fourth official and there were eight minutes of added time after the earlier delay. It took PSV just two to grab an equaliser through Moreno, who rose highest to head the ball past David de Gea via a deflection from the head of Blind.

After the break it was United who started the more confident of the two sides as Martial combined with Memphis, but the latter's shot did not have enough power to trouble Zoet.

Louis van Gaal's side were dominating possession but they could not make it count as PSV took the lead in the 57th minute as Narsingh headed home Lestienne's brilliant cross.

United could have been on level terms just five minutes later when Juan Mata spurned a glorious chance after being played in on goal by Bastian Schweinsteiger's pass.

The Spain international's touch let him down at the vital time and it was the story of the Premier League side's night as they continued to dominate the ball but there was no way through a well-marshalled PSV defence, led by former Chelsea player Bruma.

With just 15 minutes left, Van Gaal threw on Marouane Fellaini in place of Ander Herrera but their luck did not change as Mata failed to hit the target from distance and Martial skewed a shot wide of the far post.

United continued to push forward, which allowed PSV to break on the counter-attack and they should have wrapped up all three points through former Newcastle striker Luuk de Jong, but he fired his effort over the bar from close range.

However, it did not come back to haunt the home side as they held on for a famous victory, leaving United in third in Group B after Wolfsburg's win over CSKA Moscow.

The Bundesliga side are United's next opponents on September 30 for what could prove a crucial fixture as Champions League football returns to Old Trafford.

Monday, 14 May 2012

Ruud Calls Time in Malaga



The former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy has announced his retirement from football at the age of 35.

Van Nistelrooy has suffered a difficult year since joining Málaga from Hamburg last summer, scoring just five times in 32 appearances. However, he did help guide the club to their first top-four finish and thereby ensure Champions League football for the first time in their history.

"Yesterday was my final game as a professional footballer. I wanted to play in the Champions League, but it is the moment to leave," said Van Nistelrooy. "I have arrived at my physical limit and I can't play at the maximum level. I couldn't have had a better send-off than this.

"I feel happy that I am the one taking this decision. I would like to thank Málaga, the technical and medical staff for an unforgettable year. I am proud to have won collective and individual titles, but my greatest satisfaction was to be able to work day after day, year after year."

Van Nistelrooy also paid tribute to those people who supported him during his career, which included spells with PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United and Real Madrid.

"I would like to thank Málaga, my team-mates, the coaches, the physios, [sporting director] Antonio Fernández, Fernando Hierro and the fans for this unforgettable year," said the Dutchman. "I would also like to thank the fans of Den Bosch, Heerenveen, PSV, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Hamburg."

Van Nistelrooy's career began in his homeland with Den Bosch before moves to Heerenveen and PSV Eindhoven, where he made his name. After securing the Eredivisie Golden Boot in both the 1998-9 and 1999-2000 seasons, he seemed set to join Manchester United in a near £19m move. However, United called off the transfer due to fitness concerns and within days Van Nistelrooy ruptured cruciate knee ligaments during a training session.

That injury did not dissuade the United manager Sir Alex Ferguson though, as he went back for Van Nistelrooy the following summer and was duly rewarded as the striker delivered 150 goals in 219 games in his five seasons in Manchester and guided them to the title in 2002-3.

However, Van Nistelrooy's time in England ended when he fell down the pecking order and was snapped up by Real Madrid in the summer of 2006. He hit the ground running in the Spanish capital as 53 goals in two seasons saw Real capture back-to-back Primera Division titles. But once again injuries took their toll as he missed almost the entire 2008-9 campaign with a meniscus problem and then found himself behind Raúl, Gonzalo Higuaín and Karim Benzema the following season.

An 18-month spell at Hamburg followed before returning to Spain and Málaga for his final season as a professional.

Van Nistelrooy also scored 35 goals in 70 international appearances for Holland, including strikes at Euro 2004, World Cup 2006 and Euro 2008 and is the second highest all-time goalscorer in the Champions League with 54 from 81 appearances.

His final appearance for Málaga was in a 1-0 victory over Sporting Gijon.

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