PSV Eindhoven 1-2 Leicester: Player ratings as late Pereira strike seals semi-final spot
By Tom Gott
Leicester made it hard work for themselves as they came from behind to beat PSV Eindhoven 2-1 on Thursday to seal a spot in the semi-final of the Europa Conference League.
The Foxes were wasteful in front of goal but two late strikes from James Maddison and Ricardo Pereira were enough to guide them into the final four.
Mario Gotze was a real danger early on, but it was Leicester who had the game's first real chance. Jonny Evans did well to flick on a corner and his header found Wesley Fofana, who didn't see the ball coming and watched it ricochet off his head and over the bar from close range.
Soon after, Gotze drew an excellent save from Kasper Schmeichel, who did very well to react to the German's fierce volley and tip it over the bar. It was an end-to-end opening, with Harvey Barnes failing to convert when through on PSV's goal almost immediately after.
The opener ended up coming from a Leicester error. Youri Tielemans fluffed a pass and allowed PSV to get in on goal, and veteran striker Eran Zahavi made no mistake as he fired across Schmeichel and into the bottom corner via a deflection.
Maddison came within inches of bagging an equaliser, as his own deflected strike flew over Yvon Mvogo and needed an acrobatic goal-line clearance from Jordan Teze to keep the score level heading into the break.
Joey Veerman wasn't far off from making it 2-0 after the break. His effort from range deflected off Wesley Fofana and went narrowly wide of Schmeichel's post.
Substitute Patson Daka should have equalised on the hour mark as he burst through on goal, but like Barnes in the first half, he could only fire his effort wide.
That profligacy in front of goal nearly came back to bite Leicester as Ibrahim Sangare found his way into the box, but the midfielder sent his strike ballooning over the bar, giving Leicester another lifeline... and they made the most of that.
With 15 minutes to go, it was Maddison who made the difference for Leicester. His cool finish followed some excellent work by Ayoze Perez, whose cut-back gave Maddison the easy job of powering home.
Perez nearly added a second shortly after, but his flick was instinctively turned over by the impressive Mvogo.
With two minutes to go, Pereira emerged as Leicester's saviour as he thundered home to earn Brendan Rodgers' men a spot in the next round.
LEICESTER PLAYER RATINGS
1. Goalkeeper & defenders
Kasper Schmeichel (GK) - 5/10 - A top save to deny Zahavi but probably should have done better with the opener.
Ricardo Pereira (RB) - 7/10 - A poor first half but really impressive after the break. Some nice tackles and popped up with the all-important goal.
Wesley Fofana (CB) - 8/10 - Typically impressive. Imposing in the air and willing to throw himself in front of anything. Some unreal pace to stop a Zahavi counter.
Jonny Evans (CB) - 6/10 - A minor deflection for the opener but flashed his experience to kill the game off late on.
Timothy Castagne (LB) - 5/10 - Couldn't get forward as well as he usually does. Uncomfortable having to do so much defending.
2. Midfielders
Youri Tielemans (DM) - 4/10 - A really poor decision which nearly cost his team. Settled himself down after the break but evidently wasn't himself.
James Maddison (CM) - 8/10 - One of the few players who really looked up for this. Dangerous in his link-up play and took his goal incredibly well.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (CM) - 7/10 - Took his time to really get involved but started to run proceedings as the game progressed. A nice move for the winner.
3. Forwards
Marc Albrighton (RW) - 1/10 - Unsurprisingly hooked at half-time after a bitterly disappointing first half. Didn't offer anything and was actually a hinderance on occasion.
Kelechi Iheanacho (ST) - 6/10 - A creative hub in attack but continued to struggle in front of goal. Surprisingly taken off.
Harvey Barnes (LW) - 3/10 - Joined Albrighton in heading for an early bath after a poor first 45. Should've scored.
4. Substitutes
Ademola Lookman (LW, 46' for Barnes) - 5/10 - Too one-dimensional with his cuts inside but finally made a good decision in the move for the second goal.
Patson Daka (ST, 46' for Albrighton) - 5/10 - Should've scored. Simple as.
Ayoze Perez ST, 65' for Iheanacho) - 7/10 - A moment of brilliance to save Leicester.