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Donyell Malen fired Dortmund into the lead at his old stomping grounds before De Jong converted from the spot to level the tie
Published : 21 Feb 2024, 10:33 AM
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, awarded for a foul by Dortmund defender Mats Hummels.
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 Mar 13.
"We should have brought much more calmness to the game. Hummels told Amazon Prime. "We let the heated atmosphere get to us too much. I saw a very beatable Eindhoven today.
"We were not good enough with the ball. In our home game, we simply need to play better with the ball. Then, I am very confident we will progress."
The match was PSV's first Champions League knockout tie in eight seasons as they bid to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since the 2006-07 campaign.
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 were awarded a penalty by referee Srdjan Jovanovic early in the second half when Hummels lunged in on Tillman.
The defender 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.
