PSV 1-1 Dortmund: De Jong penalty keeps tie in the balance

Luuk De Jong's penalty cancelled out Donyell Malen's opener against his old club as two former European champions shared the spoils in this UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg.

Match in brief: De Jong on the spot for PSV

Donyell Malen watches on as his strike gives BVB the leadANP via Getty Images

The pre-match plans of Dortmund coach Edin Terzić were disrupted when goalkeeper Gregor Kobel suffered an injury following the warm-up, with Alexander Meyer coming off the bench to deputise.

However, the visitors appeared unaffected by this in the opening stages and had the first opportunity of the tie 15 minutes in, with Donyell Malen – eager to impress against his former employers – forcing a save from Walter Benítez after a surging run from just inside the PSV half.

That spurred the Eredivisie leaders, on the back foot for much the opening exchanges, into action with Malik Tillman drilling an effort just wide of the upright.

Frustration for PSV as Malik Tillman fires just wideAFP via Getty Images

BVB kept up the intensity, Malen forcing another Benítez stop and Niclas Füllkrug scooping over from close range, and that pressure eventually paid off midway through the first half when Marcel Sabitzer picked out Malen to the right of goal. The former PSV forward's acceleration took him past two defenders, before a strike from a tricky angle nestled just inside the post thanks to a slight deflection off the outstretched leg of Sergiño Dest.

Peter Bosz's PSV ended the first period the stronger as they went in search of an equaliser, Johan Bakayoko unable to steer his half-volley on target and Ismael Saibari stinging Meyer's palms with a powerful shot.

The Eredivisie leaders retained that momentum after the interval and were level 11 minutes after the restart, Luuk De Jong sending his low penalty just out of Meyer's reach after Tillman had been impeded by Mats Hummels' sliding challenge.

Luuk de Jong slots in his penaltyGetty Images

Both teams went in search of a winner, Dortmund substitute Marius Wolf hitting the woodwork with an audacious back-heeled volley from Ian Maatsen's free-kick, while Bakayoko and Dest both found Meyer in fine form in the BVB goal.

PlayStation® Player of the Match: Joey Veerman (PSV)

"He was a leader in midfield, with a superb range of passing but was also very strong defensively."
UEFA Technical Observer panel

Derek Brookman, PSV reporter

A real ding-dong contest in which, overall, PSV probably had more right to win than their Bundesliga opponents. Tillman, Dest, Saibari and Bakayoko all had clear sights of goal, but none could emulate De Jong in finding the Dortmund net. Nonetheless, Bosz's side will travel to Germany with the justified belief that they can progress to the next round.

Matthias Rötters, Dortmund reporter

Following Malen's not-undeserved lead, BVB gradually let control of the game slip and, in the end, can be thankful for the draw. PSV consistently presented major challenges to the Bundesliga side. In the return leg in Dortmund, Edin Terzić's team will need to rediscover their magic from the group stage or risk elimination to the Eredivisie pacesetters.

Reaction 

Peter Bosz, PSV coach: "Everything is still possible. We've already shown this season that we can get results away from home. Particularly when you see how we took control this evening when we had possession. We kept calm under pressure, we didn’t resort to long passes – we played our way out of pressure."

Joey Veerman, PSV midfielder and Player of the Match: "A 1-1 draw isn't a bad position to be in. We still have a chance, but we could have made it a bit easier for ourselves. For a lot of guys it was the first time at this stage. And you noticed that in certain choices we made in the first half. But we did much better after the break."

Edin Terzić, Dortmund coach, speaking to Amazon Prime:
"The result is such that we still have everything in our own hands. It's clear that we need to win our home game. But you have to win home games if you want to achieve something. In the first half, we were good and could often shift the ball well. In the second half, we didn't do so well, and PSV were clearly better. They are leaders of the Eredivisie for a reason. But we still have a good chance of reaching the next round. We need to get it right in the home game."

Nico Schlotterbeck, Dortmund defender, speaking to Amazon Prime: "Of course, we would have liked to take the win after taking the lead. In the end, we have to deal with the 1-1 draw. We know we still have the second leg to play. Then, there will be 80,000 people on a Champions League night. We are unbeatable there. We did a decent job today – even against Luuk de Jong. But with the ball, we need to show more in the second leg, and we will."

Alexander Meyer, BVB goalkeeper, speaking to Amazon Prime: "You always have to be prepared to come on – and that's what I had to do today. Gregor was having problems during the warm-up. I had to quickly psyche myself up. That's my job. We started off well and took the lead. But the 1-1 draw is probably fair after the 90 minutes. We know, and our fans know, what needs to be done in the home game. If we deliver that, we'll make it to the next round."

Luuk De Jong celebrates becoming PSV's leading Champions League scorerGetty Images

Key stats

• Malen hit his first ever goal in the Champions League knockout stages, his strike midway through the first half his first in this competition overall since December 2021.
• Malen is the first Dutchman to score in this competition against a side from Netherlands since Bayern München's Arjen Robben against PSV in October 2016.
• De Jong's penalty took his tally for this season to 28 goals across all competitions – the most by a PSV player since De Jong himself hit 32 in the 2018/19 campaign.
• The PSV striker hit his ninth UEFA Champions League goal for the club – surpassing Ruud van Nistelrooy to become the side's leading scorer in the competition (group stage onwards).
• De Jong's only previous goal in the knockout rounds of this tournament came for Sevilla against BVB three years ago this month.

Fantasy star performers

Veerman: 7 points
De Jong: 6 points
Malen: 6 points
Sabitzer: 6 points

Line-ups

PSV: Benítez; Teze, Schouten, Boscagli (Obispo 90), Dest; Tillman, Veerman, Saibari (Mauro Júnior 83); Bakayoko, De Jong, Lozano (Pepi 75)

Dortmund: Meyer; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen; Sabitzer, Can; Malen (Salih Özcan 82), Reus (Brandt 62), Sancho (Wolf 68); Füllkrug (Moukoko 82)