Donyell Malen scored a superb goal against his former side but a second-half penalty from Luuk de Jong earned a 1-1 draw for PSV Eindhoven in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Borussia Dortmund at the Philips Stadion on Tuesday.
Dutch international Malen rifled in a thunderous shot from a tight angle after 24 minutes but the home side created the better chances and finally took one when De Jong scored from a spot-kick.
That goal stretches PSV’s unbeaten home run to 31 games in all competitions and leaves the tie evenly poised with the return leg in Dortmund to come on March 13.
The match was PSV’s first Champions League knockout tie in eight seasons as it bids to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since the 2006-07 campaign.
It was a game of few clearcut chances as neither side committed too much in attack in a cagey contest.
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Malik Tillman had an excellent chance for the opener when he was teed up on the edge of the box and, as the Dortmund defence parted in front of him, dragged his shot wide.
Dortmund took the lead with a wonderful strike from Malen, who had four successful years at PSV before moving to the Bundesliga in 2021.
Malen appeared to be crowded out by two home defenders but managed to get a powerful shot away from 14 yards which took a slight deflection and beat keeper Walter Benitez as it went in off the crossbar.
PSV was awarded a penalty by referee Srdjan Jovanovic early in the second half when Dortmund defender Mats Hummels lunged in on Tillman.
Hummels got a healthy touch to the ball before making contact with the German-born United States international, but the VAR confirmed the on-field decision, much to the visitors’ dismay.
De Jong easily finished from 12 yards to create a small bit of club history as in doing so he overtook Ruud van Nistelrooy as PSV’s leading scorer in the Champions League with nine goals.
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