Enschede | After the penalty shootout, PSV received a great compliment about the Philips Stadium

A special club, Shakhtar Donetsk from Ukraine. Since 2024, the club has played its home matches elsewhere.

Elders in the sense that they cannot be played in the home stadium that has meanwhile been destroyed. European matches this season are even being played at Stamford Bridge. Can that be called bitter? Yes, quite. Because Shakhtar Donetsk is playing its European matches this season in a stadium that until 2022 was in the hands of a Putin envoy.

Abramovich may, in the meantime, have disappeared from the face of the earth, but it is rather bitter. At the Philips Stadium, a well-deserved point was won back, and that certainly leaves you wanting more at Shakhtar Donetsk. There is respect for PSV after the 1-1 draw in Eindhoven, but the point is nonetheless truly cherished in Ukraine.

While PSV could prepare calmly for the match in Enschede, it is a weekly struggle for Shakhtar Donetsk and it remains unpredictable what training sessions and match preparations look like given the situation in Ukraine at home.

Coach Arda Turan and several players are still impressed by the physical strength of Peter Bosz's team one good week after the scoreless draw. Defender Valeriy Bondar also points to the strikingly large wins that PSV has already recorded this season.

Turan looked back over the past few days on the share of points: “I told my players: if we’re going to play football like PSV, then we’re not going to win. We had to play our own game,” says the Turkish coach, who was visibly worked up along the touchline in Eindhoven.

“Against PSV, it is impossible to play well for ninety minutes in this stadium. But my players have held their ground and shown character”, the Turk points to the difficult-to-penetrate Philips Stadium.

“Look at PSV this season: 6-1, 3-1, 5-1. Those are almost hockey scores,” said defender Bondar in recent days in conversation with the media in Ukraine. “If you look at the overall picture, you see a team that plays one-on-one everywhere. They are incredibly powerful and strong. Physically, it’s very difficult to play against such players.”

According to Bondar, the key was in the individual duels. “You have to keep moving, change position, and try to throw your opponent off balance. If you then get the ball, you have to make the difference in a one-on-one. If you can’t, then an attack on our goal follows immediately.”

Midfielder Oleh Ocheretko found the match against PSV particularly tough. “It was a very exhausting match, because PSV plays one-on-one everywhere. They keep chasing you down and keep pressing.”

PSV will be visiting Enschede on Sunday afternoon, where a so-called hockey score is not something that will be simply taken for granted. Nevertheless, Peter Bosz's team can do well at the top of the standings because Excelsior, the small fry, took two points from Ajax Saturday evening, meaning the Amsterdammers already have five more drop points than PSV. On Sunday afternoon in Enschede, Peter Bosz's team does not necessarily need to put on a so-called 'hockey score', but the compliments from the players of Shakhtar Donetsk can nevertheless be viewed as most warm and complimentary.