Champions League 2024-25: Juventus, Dortmund register wins in knockout playoff first leg
Juventus substitute Samuel Mbangula snatched a late winner as the Italian giant beat PSV Eindhoven 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League knockout phase playoff tie on Tuesday.
The Belgian’s 82nd minute close-range finish handed Juve a slender advantage to take to the Netherlands for next week’s return leg after PSV fought back from a half-time deficit.
A thunderous strike from Weston McKennie had put the host into a 34th minute lead but Ivan Perisic, who turned 36 this month, put PSV level 10 minutes into the second half.
Both sides, which have previously won Europe’s top club prize, had chances in a flowing game and will feel they can progress to the last 16 in the return encounter next Wednesday.
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In another match, Borussia Dortmund forward Serhou Guirassy scored one and set up another in a 3-0 victory at Sporting in their Champions League playoff first leg to put last year’s finalists in the driving seat for a spot in the last 16.
Champions League top-scorer Guirassy headed in his 10th goal of the competition on the hour mark before providing Pascal Gross with a perfect assist to double the lead in the 68th.
Karim Adeyemi added another in the 82nd minute, completing a five-touch textbook counter-attack, to mark a winning European debut on the Dortmund bench for Niko Kovac, who took over last week and saw his team lose at home to VfB Stuttgart in the league on Saturday.
The Portuguese side hit the woodwork in a solid first half but quickly ran out of gas after the break. The return leg in Dortmund is on February 19.
