PSV score three goals in ten minutes to complete an astounding comeback against Shakhtar
PSV scored three goals in the last ten minutes of the game to complete an incredible comeback and beat Shakhtar Donetsk 3-2 in the Philips Stadium in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday. Malik Tillman was the star with two goals, while PSV’s other player from the United States, Ricardo Pepi, scored a dramatic winner with the last kick of the game.
It tops off a terrific week for Dutch football teams in the UEFA Champions League. Feyenoord also made a noteworthy comeback on Tuesday evening, drawing 3-3 with Manchester City.
Two of PSV’s preferred front line returned to the starting 11 for the game. Noa Lang and Luuk de Jong missed the team’s 5-0 win over FC Groningen on Saturday due to fitness issues but have since recovered.
PSV forced the first save of the match. Johan Bakayoko cut inside onto his preferred left foot before his shot was knocked wide by Shakthar goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk.
This came just minutes before the Ukrainians took the lead. Juchym Konopya came forward from the right-back position before finding Danylo Sikan, who had gotten in front of Ryan Flamingo in the PSV defence to get to the ball first and guide it home.
Luuk de Jong had a chance to level the match in the 26th minute when Olivier Boscagli found him with a great cross, but the striker did not get the connection on the ball that he would have liked, leading to the attack fizzling out.
The Philips Stadion was silenced again in the 37th minute when the visitors doubled their lead. Konoplya got his second assist of the match when he dispossessed Matteo Dams before passing the ball to Oleksandr Zubkov, who took a touch before placing it into the far corner.
PSV were struggling defensively as Shakhtar nearly made it three shortly before halftime. A brilliant cross by Zubkov was headed over by center-back Mykola Matviyenko.
The game-changing moment came in the 70th minute when Shakhtar was reduced to ten men. Pedrinho was given a straight red card for an incredibly dangerous challenge on Bakayoko.
PSV got their first goal of the match in the 87th minute. Tillman surprised everybody in the stadium by choosing to shoot from a difficult angle with a free kick. The ball eventually crept over the line because Riznyk dragged it in his dive while trying to save it.
This got the Eindhoven crowd off their feet, and they were celebrating again three minutes later. Tillman struck again with an incredible shot from around 30 yards out, which went straight into the top corner.
This was already considered a bonus for PSV considering the fact that they were two goals down in the 86th minute, but the Eindhovenaren felt a win was possible and kept on attacking. Riznyk was forced to save from a deflected effort from Mauro Junior before the dramatic winner fell.
It was substitute Ricardo Pepi who slid the ball home from close range after Ismael Saibari’s cross was partly met by Flamingo. The PSV fans went into bedlam as Peter Bosz’s picked up a huge win and one that will remain in the memory of PSV fans for a long time.