PSV through to last 16 after CSKA thriller
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Article summary
PSV 2-1 CSKA Moskva
PSV fell behind on 76 minutes but goals from Luuk de Jong and – crucially – Davy Pröpper earned them a place in Monday's knockout draw.
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- PSV seal second in Group B after Manchester United lose in Germany
- Davy Pröpper scores decisive goal four minutes from time
- Igor Akinfeev has not kept clean sheet in 37 UEFA Champions League games
- PSV into last 16 for first time since 2006/07 when they reached quarter-finals
- Round of 16 draw takes place at 12.00CET on Monday
PSV Eindhoven are through to the UEFA Champions League round of 16 for the first time in nine years after a dramatic victory over CSKA Moskva.
Dutch hopes were ebbing away when Sergei Ignashevich calmly drove in a penalty 14 minutes from time after a foul by Andrés Guardado. Home skipper Luuk de Jong quickly levelled, but an equaliser by Manchester United at Wolfsburg meant PSV were heading out until the combination of Wolfsburg's ensuing winner and Davy Pröpper smashing the ball into the visitors' net with four minutes left.
It was an incredibly open end to a match that had begun very tightly, with neither side willing to risk too much. There was half an hour gone before De Jong fashioned the first real chance, heading Héctor Moreno's cross straight at Igor Akinfeev. At the other end, Jeroen Zoet made a magnificent full-stretch save to keep Zoran Tošić's free-kick out of the top corner.
The second half continued in the same vein, CSKA content to play on the break. With Wolfsburg leading United, 0-0 was technically enough for PSV but the fragility of their situation was emphasised when Ahmed Musa drilled narrowly wide after a good overlap by Kirill Nababkin.
The game changed dramatically on 76 minutes. Guardado tripped Tošić and 36-year-old Sergei Ignashevich stroked a cool penalty past Zoet. PSV restored parity almost straight away. Jorrit Hendrix nodded the ball through from the edge of the box and, for once, De Jong sprung the offside trap to finish serenly beyond Akinfeev.
However, a subsequent equaliser in Germany meant that was not enough, until the pendulum swung once more – irrevocably this time – as Wolfsburg scored again and Pröpper found the CSKA net from distance. The Dutch champions are back in the big time.
Key player: Jeffrey Bruma
Strong, fast, imperious in the air and always in the right place, Bruma snuffed out most of the danger posed by CSKA Moskva's lightning-quick attack. He made use of the wet pitch with several crucial sliding tackles. One in particular, on Musa during the first half, was executed to perfection; any mistiming could have signalled a penalty and red card.
Offside traps PSV
Leonid Slutski has clearly fine-tuned his defence. PSV were repeatedly caught offside; seven times alone in the first half and within 25 seconds of the restart. With a back four totalling 140 UEFA Champions League appearances between them, the Army Men were as well drilled as their nickname suggests. Until De Jong finally broke their resistance.