Former PSV player opens the scoring in Eindhoven, captain’s penalty earns home team a draw with Dortmund

On Tuesday night, the first leg of the Champions League semi-final was played in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. PSV drew 1-1 with Borussia Dortmund at home. Donyell Malen’s 24th minute goal was answered by Luuk de Jong’s penalty in the 56th minute.

The game was played at a solid pace from the start, but without any significant scoring opportunities. The visitors struggled at times with their opponents’ active pressing, yet it was they who sent the first shot between the three posts after a quarter of an hour of play. However, Malen’s attempt was deflected by goalkeeper Walter Benítez.

Immediately afterwards, Tillman took an awkward shot from the edge of the box but just missed the target. The Yellow and Black then built up a slight attacking advantage and scored in the 24th minute. Former PSV player Donyell Malen scored thanks to a run by Dest and a rebound off the crossbar.

The home side then tried to find a proper response, for example in the 37th minute an interesting chance after a centre from the left was missed by Bakayoko. Three minutes later, the striker crossed a cross into the penalty area to Saibari, whose shot was parried by goalkeeper Alexander Meyer.

The end of the half saw quick but unsuccessful attacks by both teams and tougher clashes. However, the score remained unchanged until the break and the teams went into the stands 0:1 in front of a loud crowd of 35,000 spectators.

PSV captain equalised from the penalty spot

The current Eredivisie leader also entered the second half actively. In the 54th minute, Tillman was fouled by Hummels as he made his way into the box and the head referee awarded a penalty, which was confirmed by VAR. Captain Luuk de Jong then sent the ball precisely into the bottom left corner to equalise at 1-1.

For a while it continued to be fairly good football caused by the offensive efforts of both teams. Twenty minutes before the end, Borussia played a standard situation from a promising position. Maatsen’s pass was headed into the box by Wolf, but Benítez intervened.

At the other end of the pitch, Bakayoko’s 75th minute shot was only headed into Meyer’s gloves. The game rather settled down as the end approached, with neither team going forward completely at risk.

Still, in the 81st minute, Dest shot dangerously from a sharp angle, but did not beat the Dortmund man in the gloves. Just before the end of normal time, PSV suffered a setback when stopper Olivier Boscagli injured his calf. He was replaced by Armando Obispo.

The winning goal was not scored in the six-minute stoppage time, so the match ended in a draw. The return leg of the Champions League semi-final is scheduled for 13 March in Dortmund.

Source: UEFA, Youtube, Transfermarkt