As Ligue 1 team Lens welcomes PSV Eindhoven to their boisterous headquarters on Tuesday night, top encounters bottom in Champions League Group B at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
The win allowed PSV to take the second spot in the Group B rankings with 8 points from five games behind Arsenal, who are in top with 12 points and have already qualified for the Top 16. Lens, who were looking to secure their second place spot in the group now see themselves placed behind PSV at third place.
The ball glides across the outer edge of Lens’ penalty zone and Bakayoko nearly intercepts it, but the opposition doesn’t panic and continues to build from the back. So far, Les Sang et Or has produced some excellent work.
After pushing the ball to the very edge of PSV’s box, Lens set an immediate corner, and Machado, with a weak, low effort, finds the target from about 20 yards out. But Benitez is making a straightforward stop.
PSV FIRST! As PSV captain De Jong scores a signature first goal, the home crowd roars with approval! The seasoned striker holds off his defender to meet Bakayoko’s inswinging cross from the right close to the penalty spot, then powers the ball over Samba through the top-right corner to make it 1-0!
After Bakayoko’s clever run creates space on the right, Til passes the ball to Veerman, who sidefooted his shot directly at Samba in the middle of Lens’ goal after De Jong nodded down a looping cross inside the box!
After a brilliant move involving Bakayoko, De Jong, and Veerman from the right to the left, Dest appears on the left side of the box and tests Samba with a low effort at goal!
In the middle of Lens territory, Lozano pushes Danso clearly and is booked for the first time in the match.
Wahi gets the ball on the box’s left side just before the half ends. His initial attempt at hitting it on the spin fails miserably, leading to the ball to only crawl out of play on the right byline.
Gradit intentionally walks on De Jong’s foot and joins a number of teammates in the referee’s notebook, getting a fifth booking for Lens.
Lozano is unable to take a chance once again! The Mexican winger pushes forward into open space after stealing the ball from Danso and curling in a low shot that forces Samba to jump left and tip it wide for a corner! It’s really close to being over, but the score remains 1-0!
En route to their first Champions League victory, PSV defeats Lens in Eindhoven, marking their first triumph at home in the competition in eight years.
