PSV – Girona: Peter Bosz’s PSV Bash Girona in Style to Land First Champions League Triumph (4-0)

The match began as a closely contested affair, with both PSV Eindhoven and Girona showing strong intent. However, two quick strikes from the Dutch side left Girona reeling, and they struggled to regain their footing. A second-half red card for the visitors sealed their fate, as PSV capitalized on the advantage to finish with a commanding scoreline.

Tactical analysis and match report by Fahd Ahmed.

PSV Eindhoven and Girona have endured extremely contrasting starts to their domestic league seasons. Peter Bosz’s team sits comfortably at the top of the Dutch Eredivisie, having suffered only one defeat, a 3-2 loss against rivals Ajax last weekend. Meanwhile, Girona, a club that punched above its weight last season in La Liga by finishing third, has had a difficult start to the 2024-25 campaign due to a significant number of injuries. However, in the Champions League, both sides had a similar set of results ahead of the tie at Philips Stadium. PSV had a tough run of fixtures, facing Juventus, Sporting CP, and Paris Saint-Germain. To their credit, PSV earned draws against the latter two opponents. Girona collected three points in their opening three games after a commanding 2-0 victory over Slovan Bratislava, preceded by defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and PSV’s rivals, Feyenoord.

Bosz made two changes to the lineup that featured against Ajax, with Ivan Perišić and Ismael Saibari replaced by Johan Bakayoko and Mauro Júnior. Míchel, dealing with a long injury list, did not have much room to maneuver, making only one change to the starting eleven that faced Leganés in an enthralling 4-3 win, with . . .