PSV rue chances as old boy Donyell Malen earns Champions League draw for Dortmund

EINDHOVEN – PSV Eindhoven coach Peter Bosz was left ruing missed chances after his side squandered several opportunities in a 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund in their Champions League last-16, first-leg tie on Feb 20.

“In the second half, we had loads of chances. It was a shame that we didn’t score a second,” he said after the game at the Philips Stadium.

Donyell Malen snatched a vital goal to earn the Bundesliga giants the away draw at his old club but wasteful PSV were left to wonder what could have been.

The big question pre-match was which Dortmund would show up – the team who topped the Champions League “Group of Death” or the side struggling for consistency in the Bundesliga?

And it was a cagey opening in Eindhoven after home fans let off fireworks at kick-off.

“We started very nervously, I think both sides were nervous in the first minutes,” said Dortmund coach Edin Terzic.

When the smoke cleared, the hosts had the better of the opening exchanges.

But PSV midfielder Malik Tillman fluffed two gilt-edged chances in front of goal, once firing wide after a clever through-ball from veteran Dutch striker Luuk de Jong.

And the visitors punished PSV’s profligacy, taking the lead against the run of play in the 24th minute when Malen squeezed a deflected shot into the top corner.

Malen had been prolific for the Dutch giants, scoring 55 goals in 116 appearances in all competitions, and chose not to celebrate in front of PSV’s hardcore fans.

The misfiring Tillman somehow then contrived to miss another chance that looked easier to score, this time with a header right in front of goal.

Then it was Belgium winger Johan Bakayoko’s turn to scuff a shot wide, with the home fans starting to wonder if it was going to be one of those nights as they went into the break 1-0 down.

Dutch league leaders PSV have not lost at home all season and started the second half on the front foot. They were soon level.

Tillman redeemed his earlier errors by winning a penalty in the 56th minute, which de Jong converted.

Dortmund defenders were incensed at the decision, insisting veteran central defender Mats Hummels had nicked the ball before bringing down Tillman.

Terzic described it as a “hard decision” and even Bosz acknowledged: “You could see from the reaction of the Dortmund players they didn’t agree with it.”

“Zero per cent a penalty. Zero,” Hummels told Prime Video.

“Tillman was laughing all over the place. Bakayoko was laughing himself to death. They were all grinning for minutes later.”

The controversial equaliser opened the game up, with chances at both ends.

With 15 minutes to go, Bakayoko danced through the Dortmund defence but failed to get any purchase on his shot – summing up the night for PSV.

Hummels insisted his team were confident of advancing into the quarter-finals when the two sides meet again in three weeks.

“I saw a very beatable Eindhoven today,” he said.

“In our home game, the second leg, we simply need to play better with the ball. Then, I am very confident that we will progress.”
AFP