PSV run into hurricane Aguero

Claud · Sep 16, 2008

Atletico Madrid 3-0 PSV Eindhoven

Sergio 'Kun' Agüero introduced himself to the Champions League in superb fashion by scoring the very first goal of this year's tournament and adding a second en route to a famous Atleti win over a hapless PSV side.

Champions League veterans PSV Eindhoven were stunned by a Sergio Agüero inspired Atlético Madrid in their own Philips Stadion on Tuesday night as the Spaniards ran out 3-0 winners in this Group D opening clash.

The encounter, which was predicted to be a close and cagey affair, turned out to be fast and frantic and largely controlled by the Spanish side, who showed no nerves on their return to the competition after an eleven-year absence.

Their creativity and flair was simply too much for the Dutch champions on the night and two goals from Agüero in the first half followed by a lone Maniche strike after half time meant Javier Aguirre will be smiling all the way back to Madrid.

Huub Stevens on the hand will be ruing some lacklustre defending which was to blame for at least two of the three goals, but he will also be deeply concerned about where his side go from here.

Before the game all the talk from the PSV camp was about how important their home games were and how difficult they were to beat in the Philips Stadion, but Atlético simply made a mockery of that as they outplayed and outclassed the hosts over the ninety minutes.

Lining up for the start was a much-changed XI for PSV from the one that narrowly overcame Sparta Rotterdam at the weekend as Nordin Armrabat, Jason Culina and Edison Mendez all slotted into the midfield. Similarly Atlético Madrid gave starts to Antonio Lopez, Johnny Heitinga, Luis Garcia, Leo Franco and Diego Forlan, all of whom were absent from the first XI against Valladolid at the weekend.

Any fear that the changes would slow the game down initially though would have been incredibly wide of the mark. In a frantic opening two minutes first Affelay showed his pace by bursting down the right wing to put in a telling cross and then Sergio Agüero nearly capitalised on a PSV defensive error, but his shot was saved well by Isaksson. And the drama didn’t stop there, with Afellay again putting in a great cross just two minutes later, which Koevermans blasted over from just ten yards out when he should have done better.

From then on though it was the visitors who looked the more threatening though and they got an early reward for their pressure in just the 10th minute. Portugeuse midfielder Maniche started the move, chipping the ball to Luis Garcia in the area, who passed across goal and thanks to some less than convincing defending the ball found Kun, and as is the way of late, the rest was a formality.

Atlético nearly doubled their lead just minutes later too but Isaksson saved well from Portugeuse winger Simao. From then on the game finally settled into a rhythm and it was not until the 23rd that another clear-cut opportunity presented itself, yet again at the feet, or actually head on this occasion, of the hosts.

Maniche, who had looked impressive throughout the opening twenty minutes, was again the creator of the move, with his pass eventually finding Agüero inside the box after a few deflections. The diminutive Argentine did well to get a cross in from wide and Forlan should have headed it in but inexplicably missed the ball and allowed Salcido to clear. From the ensuing breakaway Paulo Assuncao became the first name to go into referee Roberto Rosetti’s notebook as he scythed down the dangerous Affelay on the half way line.

It was the inexperienced hosts who were dominating at this stage and despite an injury to Diego Forlan that saw him replaced by Florent Sinama Pongolle they doubled their lead in the 36th minute. A ball in from the substitute Pongolle found Agüero with bags of time in the box and he hit a sweet left footed shot into the far corner to send Los Rojiblancos into raptures.

Despite their lead it was the Spaniards who continued to control proceedings and Antonio Lopez, who only returned from suspension this game, found time to test Isaksson with a long range free-kick before the half time whistle blew, much to the delight of Aguirre and the travelling Madrid fans.

As PSV jogged out for the second half they knew if they were to get anything from the game they would to respond swiftly, and both Affelay and Mendez attempted to do just that, but were denied by some start goalkeeping by Leo Franco. Then, against the run of play for once, came the final nail in the coffin for the Dutch side, as just ten minutes after the restart Atlético made it 3-0.

Simao started the move as he picked up the ball from some slack PSV defending and his pass found Luis Garcia, who threaded a nice ball into the box for Maniche to slide under Isaksson and into the goal. The goal not only sealed the victory but it put the icing on the cake for a splendid individual performance by Maniche, who made for debutant Ever Banega just ten minutes after the goal.

With both the Portuguese midfielder and Sergio Agüero off PSV finally started to get to grips with the game, but one couldn’t help but feel it was a little to late. First Amrabat, who up until this point had been fairly anonymous, fired a shot in and then PSV’s best player on the night, Affelay, cracked an effort against the left post.

It wasn’t to be for the Dutch side though and despite finally manage to sustain some pressure in the Spanish half they just couldn’t break down the resistance of Tomas Ujfalusi and Johnny Heitinga, both of whom put in excellent performances. In fact, they were lucky to escape with just a three-goal defeat as both Luis Garcia and Simao had legitimate claims for penalties turned by the referee late in the game.

Not that it will bother Aguirre though, who as the final whistle blew boasted a beaming smile after witnessing a sensational performance from his side. They were on top for most of the game and totally deserved to take the three points from a PSV side who never really looked up to speed, and who will have to improve dramatically if they are to qualify from the group.

Next up for the Dutch side is arguably the toughest fixture in the group as they travel to Liverpool, whilst Atlético will hope to build on this as they face French side Marseille at home in two weeks time.

PSV EINDHOVEN 0-3 ATLÉTICO MADRID
0-1 Sergio Agüero 9'
0-2 Sergio Agüero 36'
0-3 Maniche 54'

PSV: Isaksson, Salcido, Brechet (74` Rodriguez), Marcellis, Pieters, Simmons, E. Méndez, Afellay (70` Lazovic), Cullina (46` Bakkal), Amrabat, Koevermans

Atlético Madrid: Leo Franco, Perea, Ujfalusi, Heitinga, Antonio López, Paulo Assunçao, Maniche (65` Banega), Luis Garcia, Simao, Forlán (31` Pongolle), Agüero (62` Raúl Garcia)

Bookings: Brechet 40', Méndez 47' - Paulo Assunçao 25', Perea 86'
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Great game for Atletico. Especially after last weekend's loss agaisnt Valladolid.

Colonel Ronan · Sep 16, 2008

Highlights

Claud · Sep 16, 2008

Main Event said: ↑

Highlights
Click to expand...

Nice find man. Thanks for the link

Colonel Ronan · Sep 16, 2008

No problem. That site is top-notch. They update their highlights almost immediately after games.

Claud · Sep 16, 2008

Should I incorporate Highlights from that website as well when I make the threads?

Colonel Ronan · Sep 16, 2008

Be my guest.

La Bomba · Sep 16, 2008

Kun will be the best forward in the world by next year. Quote me.

man_u_barmy_army · Sep 17, 2008

My fav player along with RVN and Rivaldo, get in there with those good performances.

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PSV run into hurricane Aguero

Claud Legendary

Colonel Ronan Continue...?

Claud Legendary

Colonel Ronan Continue...?

Claud Legendary

Colonel Ronan Continue...?

La Bomba The Future

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PSV run into hurricane Aguero

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Claud Legendary

Colonel Ronan Continue...?

Claud Legendary

Colonel Ronan Continue...?

Claud Legendary

Colonel Ronan Continue...?

La Bomba The Future

man_u_barmy_army DYC Legend +Young Prodigy

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