Luuk De Jong scored one and assisted another to help PSV Eindhoven produce one of the convincing football scores of the midweek action in the Europa League. Prior to the game, Mikel Arteta emphasized the significance of winning the group. The group winners advance directly to the round of 16, skipping a playoff matchup that also features the best third-place teams from the Champions League. Barcelona and six-time Europa League champion Sevilla are already in the draw. Although their two goals were rightfully disallowed for offside, PSV appeared to be the group’s favorite to win after Zurich’s dramatic victory over Bodo/Glimt allowed them to advance. PSV also had a chance to put the game away in the first half.
The flag was up despite Cody Gakpo’s excellent finish in the opening round. Then, just before halftime, Xavi Simons scored after eluding three Arsenal players. However, VAR penalized former Aston Villa winger Anwar El Ghazi for being offside during the buildup. At halftime, Ruud van Nistelrooy made the wise decision to insert 32-year-old striker De Jong. With minimal effort, he held off Rob Holding to set up Joey Veerman for PSV’s first goal (55), then squared the ball for the midfielder. Then Veerman finished, giving the Dutch team its first goal to stand.
Then De Jong scored for himself. Aaron Ramsdale, filling in for the injured Matt Turner, attempted to punch the ball away from a corner that Gakpo gave, but failed, allowing the PSV striker to head home (63). In the second half, Gakpo once more put the ball in the goal, but an additional offside flag was raised. This did not really matter, though, as Arsenal provided virtually nothing on the other end. Even though Arteta expressed his “disappointment” with the outcome, he argued Arsenal is still in a good situation and does not have time to wallow in self-pity.
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