PSV count the cost after Dnipro defeat

FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk's 2-1 win at PSV Eindhoven did not merely give them an unassailable lead in UEFA Europa League Group F; it also shattered one of the longest unbeaten home runs in European competition, stretching back 22 matches to a 3-1 reverse against Liverpool FC in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League. Wilfred Bouma lamented that the Dutch side "couldn't find the strength to regain the initiative" after the Ukrainian outfit had cancelled out Georginio Wijnaldum's fine effort, the eventual loss leaving Dnipro's Vitali Denisov to hail a "great result for our club".

Jeremain Lens, PSV forward
I can't explain why we're doing so well in domestic competition while results are disappointing in Europe. We tried to play our normal game and it just didn't work. It's a shame we can't play in this type of match any more this season – now we just have to concentrate on the league.

It certainly wasn't our intention that things would turn out this way – as you can see, I'm not standing here smiling because we lost. We treated this match like any other, but sometimes things simply don't work out, and tonight was one of those occasions. Missing Mark van Bommel and Kevin Strootman didn't help, but that's no excuse. We should have done better.

Wilfred Bouma, PSV defender
We knew we had to win and we didn't manage to do so, so that feels bad. Some people suggested that this tournament wasn't our main priority but that's absolutely not true – we wanted to go as far as possible and it hurts that we're out. Our coach picked the best available players, like he always does.

We started brightly and took the lead through a great goal from Georginio, but after they equalised we couldn't find the strength to regain the initiative. We're a good team but they are too, with seven or eight internationals, so although we're upset it's no disgrace to lose to an opponent like that.

Vitali Denisov, Dnipro defender
When I came on [for Ivan Strinić on 69 minutes], I was hoping to strengthen our defence with fresh legs. Soon after that, we scored and I realised it would be an even tougher task because PSV would go all out for the equaliser. That was especially true after Jaba [Kankava] was sent off – they really put us under pressure, but we held out and I'm glad because we fully deserved the victory.

Our tactics were to hit them on the break and that worked well. This is a great result for our club, everyone is very happy we won the group, especially when you consider there were teams of the calibre of PSV and Napoli also competing for the top spots.