The Philips Stadion witnessed home side PSV Eindhoven meltdown in remarkable fashion after conceding two quickfire Leicester City goals at the death. The result ends the ‘Rood-witten’s’ 15-match unbeaten streak and sends the ‘Foxes’ jumping into their first-ever European semi-final.
With the away goal rule abolished, Leicester put in an energised second leg showing in the initial minutes, knowing they could not rely on a score draw. However, it was the home side who threatened the visitor’s goal first by virtue of Mario Götze’s stupendous first-time volley directed towards the top corner, before Mauro Júnior blasted a shot that was headed into the bottom right – both of which were excellently thwarted away by Kasper Schmeichel.
Although the ‘Foxes’ reacted well, they couldn’t keep ‘Rood-witten’ from scoring in the 27th minute. The move saw Götze tee up Eran Zahavi on the right flank, who in turn struck a wonderful low drive to score the tie’s first goal in over 100 minutes of play. Then, a wicked deflection off James Maddison’s shot in the PSV box saw the ball heading into an empty net, but Jordan Teze was on hand to heroically scissor-kick it away from the goal line to keep his side in the lead going into the second period.
Brendan Rodgers’ outfit encountered a rather stern home defence after the break, but it was the Dutch side’s attack that proved relentless time and again, looking to turn the slim lead into a comfortable one. Joey Veerman saw his deflected long-range effort skim the left post on its way out, before goalscorer Zahavi sent a header flying over Schmeichel’s crossbar as the clock struck the hour mark. Leicester forward Patson Daka then produced an amazing solo run, only to see his end product zoom past Swiss goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo’s left post.
The final quarter-hour saw Roger Schmidt’s ‘Rood-witten’ spurn yet another chance to double their lead via Ibrahim Sangaré’s missed effort high over the crossbar. The Dutch side were punished for their missed chances in the 77th minute, thanks to Leicetser’s most threatening forward of the evening, Maddison, who thumped the ball from close-range past a helpless Mvogo to level scores. With PSV visibly shaken, Leicester took full advantage of their opponent’s shortcomings and thumped in the winner two minutes from FT, as Ricardo Pereira struck a rebound from close range to win it for the ‘Foxes’.
The hosts succumbed to a fifth loss in their last 18 home encounters against English opposition, as they failed to extend their unbeaten streak at the Philips Stadion to eight games by virtue of a dilapidated second half display. In stark contrast, Leicester’s second-half comeback steers them towards their first-ever European semi-final in the club’s history
