PSV vs. Atletico Madrid: Score and Reaction from 2016 Champions League
Atletico Madrid were held to a goalless stalemate in the Netherlands by PSV Eindhoven in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie at the Philips Stadion on Wednesday.
The visitors had the better chances in the game, and at least one of Antoine Griezmann or Luciano Vietto should have found the net in the first half.
Gaston Pereiro was sent off for the hosts after 68 minutes for a careless second yellow card, but despite some late pressure, Atleti were unable to break the deadlock.
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The Spanish side fired an early warning shot at their hosts as they had the ball cleared off the line just minutes after kick-off. Luciano Vietto raced onto a long ball forward and was able to touch the ball past Jeroen Zoet, but Jeffrey Bruma was on hand to put it out for a corner.
It was a tactic Atletico repeated as they sent another ball over the top for Koke. But his attempt at a lob lacked the necessary height, and Zoet was able to deny him.
The visitors dominated the early stages as they pressed and harried PSV into giving up possession. Football journalist Dermot Corrigan reflected on the start to the match:
Zoet was called into action again when Antoine Griezmann raced onto a perfectly weighted through ball, but the 'keeper spread himself well in the one-on-one to save the Frenchman's dinked effort.
PSV came close with their first notable chance of the match as Davy Propper wriggled his way into the area forced a save from Jan Oblak, and Atleti's defence were on hand to block Jurgen Locadia's and Jetro Willems' close-range follow-ups.
Spanish football writers Jack Benson and Ed Malyon noted the openness of the game as PSV grew into the encounter:
Further chances were few and far between for the remainder of the half, though, as Squawka Football revealed at the break:
Indeed, it wasn't until just after the hour mark that either side had a noteworthy chance.
Diego Godin rose to glance in a corner from Koke, but the official adjudged the Uruguayan to have fouled Hector Moreno. Benson believes the defender was unfortunate to see his goal ruled out:
Atletico were handed a break, though, when Pereiro—already on a yellow card—was given a second booking for jumping into Godin, leaving PSV to play over 20 minutes with 10 men.
Los Rojiblancos quickly looked to capitalise on their advantage as Gabi forced a save from Zoet with a long-range effort, while substitute Fernando Torres blazed a difficult half-volley over the bar from 10 yards.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone brought off Saul for Angel Correa as he looked for a late winner, and the 20-year-old added zip to Atleti's forward line as they exerted pressure on their opponents. Zoet produced another save from Griezmann when the forward sent a fairly tame header goalwards.
PSV remained organised despite their numerical disadvantage, though, and limited Atleti's chances as they held on for a draw.
Atletico will no doubt fancy their chances of coming out on top at the Vicente Calderon in the return leg. However, their failure to grab an away goal and PSV's resilient performance after going down to 10 men will give the Dutch side hope—after all, a score draw would see them go through to the quarter-finals.
Post-Match Reaction
Per the Champions League's official Twitter feed, Simeone believes his side have the advantage of being at home in the second leg:
According to Atletico's Twitter feed, the Argentinian reiterated that sentiment and praised his side's effort:
Per Goal's Stefan Coerts, PSV boss Phillip Cocu is confident his side can progress and was pleased they hung on for a draw after seeing Pereiro sent off. He told Dutch TV channel SBS 6, "We are satisfied with the result. We played a big part with 10 players and this was the best result we could get in that circumstances.
"We now have to try to score a goal in the away game. I still think we have a chance of going through. It's an away game and it will not be easy, but we have shown in the past that we can score goals. We have everything left to play for."
