Jadon Sancho had a forgettable debut in the Netherlands as PSV Eindhoven managed to hold the visitors to a draw thanks to a contentious penalty call.
Sancho blew and puffed on the left and occasionally through the middle, but he was scarcely able to produce anything significant, making it another disappointing night for him. Conversely, Donyell Malen, the Black and Yellows’ sparkplug, was in outstanding shape as he made his way back to the Phillips Stadion. When he appeared with the visiting team’s opener, it was expected. After Marcel Sabitzer set him up, the 25-year-old moved past a number of players before launching a close-range drive toward goal. The strike did deflect, but it still had enough force to go past goalkeeper Walter Benitez and enter via the underside of the crossbar.
Only after falling behind did PSV begin to establish some sort of midfield structure and began to gradually pose defensive challenges to Dortmund. As the Mexican attempted to create something out of nothing to set up his colleagues Ismail Saibari, Johan Bakayoko, and Luuk De Jong, Hirving Lozano appeared to be a threat on the left wing. But they didn’t get back into the game until they had some good fortune on their side. Malik Tillman moved in ahead of Matts Hummels with his studs, and it looked like a nice block from Hummels to give Tillman a fair chunk of the ball. But when the USMNT player struck the ground, Serbian referee Srdjan Jovanovic signaled the foul. De Jong also completed the rest from 12 yards out.
Dortmund didn’t put up much of a fight as the game went on, and their second half was quiet, which gave PSV the confidence they needed ahead of their March trip to Germany.
