PSV Aims to Break Champions League Opening-Day Curse Against Shakhtar
PSV Eindhoven walk into this Champions League campaign with a familiar weight on their shoulders and a very different mood in the dressing room.
Five seasons running, the Dutch champions have lost on Matchday 1 in Europe’s elite competition. Every time the anthem plays to open a new campaign, the night has ended the same way: with PSV chasing, regretting, explaining.
Peter Bosz is convinced this year is different.
The 62-year-old coach spoke with unusual certainty ahead of Tuesday’s clash with Shakhtar Donetsk at the Philips Stadion, insisting his team arrive in a far stronger state than 12 months ago.
“I can firmly say that our development is far more advanced than at this stage last year,” Bosz said. “We play much better football now, but we must step it up another notch for the Champions League.”
No grand declarations about how far PSV will go. No talk of minimum targets in the new league phase. Bosz has nailed his approach to something simpler and more ruthless: one game, three points, then move on.
A landmark night for PSV
The meeting with Shakhtar marks PSV’s 20th participation in the main phase of the Champions League, nudging them past Ajax’s record of 19. It is a statistic that underlines the club’s European pedigree, but also sharpens the frustration of those recent false starts.
The mood around Eindhoven, though, is buoyant. PSV arrive as reigning Dutch champions, playing the aggressive, collective football Bosz has been trying to impose since he walked through the door. He made it clear he now sees a team that finally looks like his.
At the same time, he knows exactly how quickly that can unravel under European floodlights.
Champions League nights, he warned, demand more: more intensity, more focus, more edge in both boxes. Domestic dominance does not automatically travel.
Shakhtar memories and a warning
Shakhtar come with their own story and a familiar profile. The Ukrainian club have long built teams that blend technically sharp Brazilian attackers with hardened Ukrainian core players, and Bosz expects another side capable of punishing any lapse.
This fixture also drags up fresh memories in Eindhoven. Earlier this year, PSV produced a wild late comeback against Shakhtar, scoring three times after the 86th minute to turn a 2-0 deficit into a stunning 3-2 win at the Philips Stadion.
That night felt miraculous. Bosz will not want to rely on miracles again.
Goals have followed PSV around Europe recently. Their last 10 Champions League matches have produced 44 goals, a run that almost guarantees drama. For supporters, it promises another open, attacking contest. For a coach, it is a reminder that control has often been optional.
Bosz wants that to change without sacrificing the front-foot football that has become PSV’s calling card.
Bosz hits back over Van Bommel storm
Away from tactics and targets, Bosz also used his pre-match press conference to wade into the ongoing debate around Ruben van Bommel.
The young PSV player has been at the centre of a media storm after a controversial tackle, with criticism and outrage dominating Dutch headlines. Bosz, clearly irritated, moved to protect his winger.
“All this media outrage is laughable and ridiculous,” he said. “It was just one incident in a football match. This polemic needs to end now for Ruben’s peace of mind.”
He revealed he had deliberately avoided giving Van Bommel any special treatment in the aftermath, wary that extra attention from inside the club would only fuel the noise outside. Bosz also pointed to what he sees as a double standard, recalling serious injuries suffered by PSV players in the past that drew far less public anger.
The message was unmistakable: he will not let the narrative around one challenge shape the build-up to PSV’s European opener.
Total focus on breaking the hex
When the whistle blows at the Philips Stadion, all of that – the record appearances, the media rows, the late comeback against the same opponent – will fade into the background.
What will matter is whether PSV can finally step through a Champions League opener without tripping over the same stone.
Bosz has made his demand clear: total focus, higher tempo, sharper minds. The football, he believes, is already “much better”. Now it has to show when the anthem plays and the old curse stares them in the face again.
