PSV Aims to End Opening-Day Curse Against Shakhtar Donetsk

PSV Eindhoven walk into this Champions League campaign with an old problem on their backs and a new conviction in their stride.

Five seasons in a row they have lost on Matchday 1 in this competition. Five times the group stage has started with a punch to the gut. Peter Bosz is determined that run ends under the Philips Stadion lights against Shakhtar Donetsk.

This is no ordinary European night for PSV either. It marks their 20th appearance in the main phase of the Champions League, nudging them past Ajax’s tally of 19 and underlining where the power in Dutch football currently sits. The mood around Eindhoven reflects that shift.

“We play much better football now”

Bosz cut a confident figure in his pre‑match press conference, insisting the team that takes the field now is a very different animal to the one at the same point last season.

“I can firmly say that our development is far more advanced than at this stage last year,” the 62‑year‑old said. “We play much better football now, but we must step it up another notch for the Champions League.”

That is the crux of his message. Domestic dominance is not enough here. Bosz hammered home the need for a higher gear in Europe – more intensity, sharper focus, no lapses if PSV want to turn good football into three points.

He refused to talk about where PSV might finish in the new league‑phase format. No grand predictions, no bold targets. One game at a time. Shakhtar first, everything else later.

Storm around Ruben van Bommel

The build‑up has not been solely about tactics and history. Ruben van Bommel’s name has been dragged through headlines after a controversial tackle, and Bosz has clearly had enough of the noise.

He chose not to give the young winger special treatment in the aftermath, wary of feeding the storm. At the same time, he made it clear he stands firmly behind his player and was quick to express relief that the opponent involved is recovering well.

Then he turned his fire on the coverage itself.

“All this media outrage is laughable and ridiculous,” Bosz said. “It was just one incident in a football match. This polemic needs to end now for Ruben’s peace of mind.”

He also highlighted what he sees as a double standard, pointing to serious injuries suffered by PSV players in the past that did not provoke anything like the same reaction. The message was blunt: enough is enough, let the football speak.

Memories of a wild finish

Shakhtar arrive with a familiar profile. A blend of slick Brazilian talent and hardened Ukrainian quality, a club that has rebuilt and reinvented itself more than once yet still finds ways to compete on this stage.

The tie also stirs fresh memories in Eindhoven. Earlier in 2024, these sides produced a breathless contest at the Philips Stadion, PSV ripping up the script with three late goals after the 86th minute to turn a looming defeat into a 3-2 win. It was chaotic, dramatic, and pure Champions League theatre.

The numbers hint at more of the same. PSV’s last 10 matches in this competition have produced 44 goals. This is not a team that tends to tiptoe through Europe. They attack, they leave space, they entertain. Their supporters will walk into the ground expecting another open, high‑scoring clash.

Bosz, though, will be demanding something more ruthless than romantic. He wants the energy, the tempo, the courage on the ball – but wrapped in control and concentration from the first whistle to the last.

A perfect start has eluded PSV for too long. Under the floodlights, with a record European appearance to celebrate and a coach convinced his side has grown up, this feels like the night to find out whether that old hex finally breaks.