PSV Eindhoven reach round of 16 in UEFA Conference League

Tel Aviv, Feb. 25 (IANS): Dutch club PSV Eindhoven entered the round of 16 of UEFA’s Conference League after a 1-1 away draw against Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Eindhoven progressed on Thursday night with a 2-1 aggregate win after their 1-0 home victory in the first leg.

Thursday’s match was played in front of 28,000 fans at Bloomfield Stadium in Jaffa, the southern part of the coastal Tel Aviv-Jaffa conurbation.

It was a significant game for PSV’s Israeli striker Eran Zahavi, who played for Maccabi for three and a half years and received a warm welcome from the local fans.

Zahavi led Maccabi to three Israeli league championship titles, before he moved in 2016 to Chinese Super League side Guangzhou R and F where he was crowned top scorer.

After a strong opening by Maccabi, PSV took control, but the first half ended goalless.

Just seconds into the second half, Maccabi were close to scoring, but a shot by Croatian striker Stipe Perica hit the post.

In the 57th minute, Maccabi fans threw objects into the pitch which led the game to be suspended for five minutes.

After the resumption, Zahavi, who did not threaten Maccabi’s goal, was substituted in the 66th minute.

Belgian striker Yorbe Vertessen scored for Eindhoven in the 84th minute, 10 minutes after entering the game.

Maccabi evened the score in the 91st minute with a header by Spanish defender Enrique Saborit, after an accurate pass from midfielder Gabi Kanichowsky.

The draw for round of 16 will take place late on Friday at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.