PSV draw 1-1 in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League last 16 tie vs Dortmund
PSV drew the first leg of their UEFA Champions League last 16 tie with Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday at the Philips stadium in Eindhoven. Luuk de Jong converted a penalty to salvage a draw for Peter Bosz's side after Donyell Malen broke the deadlock for the German side.
Peter Bosz went with Jerdy Schouten at the centre of defence. This came at the cost of André Ramalho. Schouten is originally a midfielder but has been put at Centre Back in big matches like Feyenoord and AZ this season. The home side was boosted before kick-off as Dortmund's first-choice goalkeeper Gregor Kobel got injured in the warming up and had to be replaced by stand-in Alexander Meyer.
The first big chance of the match went PSV's way after 15 minutes played. Captain Luuk de Jong played an excellent reverse ball to Malik Tillman, who was in front of the goal, but the midfielder pulled his shot wide.
The German side broke the deadlock after 23 minutes, and it was ex-PSV winger Donyell Malen who continued his excellent run of form. Marcel Sabitzer passed the ball to Malen, whose shot was deflected by Sergino Dest before bouncing in off the underside of the bar. Malen did not celebrate out of respect for his old side.
PSV missed another chance in the 37th minute. Hirving Lozano played a clever pass to Ismael Saibari, who found Johan Bakayoko at the far post with a cross, but unfortunately for the Belgian winger, the ball bounced right before he was going to hit it, ensuring that he didn't get the connection on the ball that he wanted and sending it wide.
The home team was awarded a penalty in the 54th minute. Tillman received the ball in the box and was met by a slide tackle from Dortmund captain Mats Hummels. The experienced German defender seemed confident that it would be overturned after a VAR review as he seemed to connect with the ball first before catching Tillman on the ankle. But the officials stuck with their decision, and de Jong took full advantage, placing the penalty into the bottom corner.
It was de Jong’s ninth goal in the Champions League for PSV, making him their all-time highest goalscorer in the competition. Before the match, he was level with Ruud van Nistelrooij.
The ending of the match was slower in tempo as both sides seemed to be more afraid to lose rather than take some risks to win the game.
The second leg will be played in Dortmund on the thirteenth of March. PSV faces PEC Zwolle away this weekend in the Eredivisie—dortmund face Hoffenheim at home in the Bundesliga.
