Ruud Van Nistelrooy Tactics At PSV Eindhoven 2022/2023 – How He Compensated For Loss Of Cody Gakpo And Noni Madueke

Sir Alex Ferguson is arguably the greatest manager of all time.

During his four-decade managerial career, the Scot coached hundreds upon hundreds of players, particularly during his illustrious tenure at Old Trafford.

However, no players really went on to have enthralling careers in football as coaches or managers.

Steve Bruce, Mark Hughes, Laurent Blanc and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer certainly coached at high levels in the game and have had great careers, but it would be amiss to label them as top-of-the-range.

Others like Gary Neville, Bryan Robson and Paul Scholes have had a go but retreated to punditry with their tails between their legs.

Now, there is a final wave of Sir Alex’s fledglings who have been trying their hand at management, from Dwight Yorke at Macarthur in Australia to Wayne Rooney at Derby County and DC United, to even Carlos Tevez at Rosario Central in Argentina.

Michael Carrick is definitely the most promising right now, having taken Middlesbrough from relegation fodder to top-three candidates.

Still, there is another product of the Ferguson school of coaching who is making waves in Europe right now.

Having taken charge of Jong PSV for one season, Ruud van Nistelrooy made the colossal step up to the first team, replacing the popular Roger Schmidt at the helm, who had just lost the Eredivisie title to Erik ten Hag’s Ajax by a marginal two points.

The former Manchester United frontman was tasked with going one step further than his predecessor and winning the trophy for the first time in five years.

After an excellent first half of the season, PSV Eindhoven progressed to the knockout phase of the UEFA Europa League, beating Premier League leaders Arsenal.

They are now locked in a title bid with Feyenoord.

Cody Gakpo and Noni Madueke, in particular, were lighting the grass in the Philips Stadion on fire.

Unfortunately for van Nistelrooy, the duo was snapped up in January due to their tremendous performances under his wing.

Nevertheless, the show must go on, and the boss has had to adapt to losing two of the team’s most important limbs.

In this tactical analysis, which serves as a team scout report, we will examine how Van Nistelrooy has adjusted his tactics at PSV to compensate for the loss of Gakpo and Madueke to Liverpool and Chelsea, respectively.

What did Cody Gakpo and Noni Madueke offer?

The answer to this question is straightforward: goals and being a constant threat.

In Ruud van Nistelrooy formation of 4-3-3/4-2-3-1, Cody Gakpo was deployed on the left of a three while Noni Madueke was playing just off the right.

Former Barcelona striker Luuk de Jong was tasked with leading the line.

The experienced target man excels in many areas, including winning the first contact in aerial duels and holding the ball up.

However, scoring goals is not one of them.

Luuk de Jong xG Map

This isn’t a dig at de Jong.

While many attribute the number ‘9’ as a team’s sole goalscoring outlet, it technically isn’t true.