PSV Eindhoven manager Peter Bosz gave a scathing public rebuke to his players for their ‘disrespectful’ actions against Liverpool.
The Dutch champions ended the Reds’ perfect run in the competition with a 3-2 win that confirmed their place in the play-off round. Arne Slot heavily rotated his side, with the Anfield club already assured of their place in the last-16.
PSV trailed their opponents on two occasions but fought back to level ahead of the break, before grabbing the winner on the stroke of half-time.
Facing a weakened Liverpool team greatly helped the cause of the home side and their belief was further strengthen by the second-half sending off of debutant Amara Nallo. PSV then saw out the win by retaining possession with some flashy passes.
And this angered Bosz, who did not hold back in his condemnation of the antics post-match.
‘I thought it was terrible,’ he said. ‘It really annoys me. It’s misplaced, they shouldn’t do that. It was a kind of rondo they played there, with a back heel and a no-look pass.
Peter Bosz slammed his players for their ‘disrespectful’ antics during PSV’s win over Liverpool
The Dutch champions twice came from behind to beat a heavily-rotated Liverpool outfit
The Reds suffered their first defeat in the competition this term but still progressed as winners of the League Phase
‘If I had been in that position, I would have sawed them off below the knees. You just shouldn’t do that. I don’t think it’s respectful to the opponent. I haven’t spoken to them about it yet, but I will.
‘I do like entertaining the crowd, but in a different way. I think we would have entertained the crowd before without all that craziness.’
PSV ended the League Phase in 14th place and will face either arch-rivals Feyenoord or Juventus for a place in the last-16.
Bosz acknowledged that the Liverpool team they came up against were short of some of the best talents but he nevertheless insisted his was delighted with the comeback victory.
‘I watched it with great pleasure,’ he added. ‘I understand very well that it wasn’t the best Liverpool team, but there was still a lot of quality on the pitch. We tried to play our best football against that.
‘Hopefully we succeeded. Not everything went well, I also saw enough things that need to be improved. But they were beautiful goals, those by Johan [Bakayoko], but also those by Ismael [Saibari], and we achieved a good victory.’
Despite suffering their first defeat of the Champions League campaign, Slot’s side ended the League Phase atop the 36-team table. They will meet PSG, Monaco, Brest or Benfica in the next round.