Ryan Flamingo was the hero as PSV Eindhoven staged a fantastic comeback to send Juventus crashing out of the UEFA Champions League in extra time.
Juventus entered the second leg of their playoff 2-1 up on aggregate, but an incredible second-half display from the Dutch side took them to extra time. Goals from PSV’s Ivan Perišić and Ismael Saibari, with a Timothy Weah thunderbolt sandwiched between them to keep Juventus in the tie, meant extra time.
Dutch defender Ryan Flamingo snatched the historic winner in the 98th minute as PSV won a Champions League knock-out tie for the first time since 2008.
Embed from Getty ImagesAs it happened
The Bianconeri were resolute and limited the home side to minimal chances in the first period, even with Renato Veiga’s early injury which threatened to disrupt a cohesive Juventus backline. Andrea Cambiaso replaced the Chelsea loanee.
The first chance fell to Juve as Weah sent an enticing cross towards Randal Kolo Mauni, who couldn’t keep his header down. Another Juve chance came, this time for the substitute Cambiaso, teed up by Manuel Locatelli. Walter Benítez was sharp and palmed the effort away from his goal. Save for a chance created by Noa Lang, PSV were kept quiet and Thiago Motta was the happier of the two managers at the interval.
The second period started, unlike the first, with energy and excitement. Lloyd Kelly and Flamingo collided in the area with the Philips Stadion screaming for a penalty. They were unsuccessful, but it was the beginning of a frantic half. Lang fired into the side netting for PSV and Kolo Muani forced a save from Benítez at the other end.
Embed from Getty ImagesOn 53 minutes, the Philips Stadion erupted. Lang drove forward and beat two defenders before picking Perišić out on the right-hand side of the area. He took an incredible touch to set himself up and hammered the ball across Di Gregorio into the far corner. A few minutes later, he came within inches of giving PSV the aggregate lead but his shot was just wide. De Jong then rose highest from a corner and his header looked destined for the back of the net only for Federico Gatti to clear off the line. Juve were firmly under the cosh in Eindhoven.
Then came the sucker punch. Timothy Weah cannoned a cleared set-piece into the bottom corner from 25 yards out and wheeled off to celebrate – only for the linesman to raise his flag. The goal was disallowed for an initial offside on Kelly, but the Englishman did not interfere with play and a VAR intervention meant the goal stood. Juventus were level on the night and back in front on aggregate – but PSV were not done just yet.
Embed from Getty ImagesBosz’s side once again levelled the tie. Perišić floated a ball into the path of De Jong who couldn’t finish it himself – but it fell kindly for the onrushing Ismael Saibari who hammered it into the roof of the net. PSV had an extra half hour to complete their comeback – and only needed eight minutes of it to do so.
In the 98th minute, Joey Veerman floated a set-piece to the pacy Johan Bakayoko. With no Juve player near him, he surged towards the byline and crossed. Juve failed to clear and Flamingo was on hand to put PSV in front on aggregate for the first time.
Juventus had a final chance to force penalties when Serbian striker Dušan Vlahović peeled away from the Diutch backline, but his shot cannoned off the post. The Philips Stadion rejoiced at full time as PSV booked their place in the round of 16, dumping Juventus out of the competition.
The lineups
PSV: Benítez; Ledezma, Flamingo, Boscagli, Mauro Júnior; Schouten, Saibari, Veerman; Perišić, De Jong, Lang
JUV: Di Gregorio; Weah, Gatti, Veiga, Kelly; Locatelli, Koopmeiners; Conceição, McKennie, González; Kolo Muani
