PSV fight back to end Panathinaikos ambitions
Thursday, November 6, 2014
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Panathinaikos FC 2-3 PSV Eindhoven
Luuk de Jong and Georginio Wijnaldum were on target as the visitors battled from 2-1 down to earn a win that knocked out Panathinaikos.
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• Second in Group E, PSV move four points clear of third-placed Estoril
• Panathinaikos's last-32 hopes ended after third loss
• The Greens led 1-0 and 2-1 and twice went close to making it 3-2
• Next games: Dinamo Moskva v Panathinaikos, Estoril v PSV (27 November)
PSV Eindhoven twice came from behind to win 3-2 and tighten their grip on second spot in Group E and eliminate Panathinaikos FC.
Goals from Abdul Ajagun and Mladen Petrić – sandwiched between Memphis Depay's reply – had put the Greens on course for a much-needed win at half-time. But Luuk de Jong's low finish and Georginio Wijnaldum's header helped PSV clinch a victory which cemented them in second behind runaway section leaders FC Dinamo Moskva.
In an attack-minded contest, Depay went close moments before Ajagun gave the hosts a 1-0 lead on 11 minutes, drilling in Zeca's cross following a Kostas Triantafyllopoulos' throw-in. PSV levelled before the half-hour mark in a move started and finished by Depay, who surged into the box to meet Wijnaldum's first-time through ball and slipped his shot clinically past Luke Steele.
PSV went close to another before Petrić restored Panathinaikos's advantage, dispatching a sweet volley beyond Jeroen Zoet. Chances were at a premium after half-time, but PSV levelled on the counter. Jetro Willems broke down the left and crossed for De Jong to score. Two minutes later, Ajagun missed a golden chance to make it 3-2, his shot brilliantly parried by Zoet, while Nikos Karelis prodded wide from close range.
The hosts were made to pay for their profligacy with 12 minutes remaining when Wijnaldum rose to head in Willems' left-wing corner and end their hopes of reaching the last 32.