Another strong performance from Malik Tillman gave PSV Eindhoven a puncher’s chance of still advancing out of Group B, while Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah couldn’t prevent AC Milan from inching closer to an embarrassing last-place finish in Group F.
Lens 1 – 1 PSV Eindhoven
Malik Tillman and Sergiño Dest both started for PSV in their crucial visit to Lens on Tuesday, and the German-American attacker continued to impress during his on-loan team by setting up their lone goal of the evening.
While somewhat limited with his time on the ball with only 28 touches over his 71 minutes on the field, Tillman was an effective contributor on the right side of the midfield, completing all but one of his 14 passing attempts, setting up PSV’s opening and ultimately tying goal, and drawing four fouls from the opposition.
Dest went the distance at left back, making 71 touches and setting up one chance in the process, while Ricardo Pepi’s short cameo saw him pick up his first yellow card of the group stage.
Following a scoreless first half that saw Hirving Lozano’s shot off the upright in the 27th minute being the best chance for either side, the visitors struck nine minutes after the break to take advantage.
Just moments after Johan Bakayoko wasted a fine cross by Dest from the left flank, the Belgian international made no mistake when receiving Tillman’s short lay-off at the upper right corner of the 18-yard box, burying his shot to the far side for the 1-0 PSV lead.
This lasted for only 11 minutes after Lens equalized in the 54th minute. Przemyslaw Frankowski lofted a probing cross from deep in the right flank to the edge of the six-yard box, where Elye Wahi struck it mid-air for a fantastic finish to the right side of Walter Benitez’s goal.
The point leaves PSV technically at the bottom of Group B with two points, however, they have the chance to climb to at least third place following the home leg against Lens on Wednesday, November 8. They return to their Eredivisie campaign on Sunday with a home game against struggling arch-rivals Ajax.
Union Berlin 0 – 1 Napoli
Brenden Aaronson earned the start in Union Berlin’s midfield on Tuesday in their disappointingly narrow loss to reigning Serie A champions Napoli.
Aaronson played 70 minutes in a more central role but was largely shut out of the action before departing shortly after Napoli’s goal in favor of Aissa Laidouni as a part of a triple-switch by head coach Urs Fischer.
He had just 18 touches and completed nine of 10 passes, but did see his lone attempt fly just wide of the mark, and drew one foul from the opposition.
A seeming opener from Union’s Janik Haberer in the 19th minute was whistled back for a narrow offside infraction in the build-up, and the hosts were generally able to keep up the pressure before the break, albeit critically without any reward to show for their efforts.
Napoli’s winner came in the 65th minute, with Khvicha Kvaratkhelia doing the hard work to round his defender on the end line to the left of the goal, before spotting Giacomo Raspadori at the edge of the six-yard box. The Italian struck the ball precisely with his left foot on the first touch, threading the needle between the keeper’s torso and the left upright for his first goal of the group stage.
Union already looks dead and buried in European competition, with no points from their first three games and a last-place finish in Group D as the overwhelmingly likely scenario. They will try to revive their flailing Bundesliga campaign with a visit to Bremen on Saturday and are next active in the Champions League when they visit Napoli on November 8.
Celtic 2 – 2 Atlético Madrid
Cameron Carter-Vickers continued his back-in-action tour, this time going the distance for Celtic in their surprising home draw against Atlético on Wednesday night.
Despite picking up a yellow card near the half-hour mark, the American international put in a strong performance against the tough Spaniard squad, completing 94% of his 86 passes, winning his only tackle, making five clearances, intercepting two passes, making six recoveries, winning four out of seven duels, while committing only one foul.
Celtic took an early lead in the fourth minute thanks to Kyogo Furuhashi’s sneaky run into the box and fine finish to the lower left corner. While Antoine Griezmann looked to have flubbed the equalizer with a weak spot kick in the 25th minute that Joe Hart easily saved, he immediately buried the rebound to avoid any embarrassment.
Three minutes later, Luis Palma controlled Daizen Maeda’s cross across the area and hit a shot that bounced off the far post and into the back of the net to restore Celtic’s lead.
However, veteran Spanish international Álvaro Morata, whose dramatic first-half flopping on the turf helped Carter-Vickers earn his yellow card, earned a point for his team with a low, lunging header in the 53rd to put away Marcos Llorente’s cross.
While the visitors were reduced to ten men for the final minutes after Rodrigo De Paul was shown a second yellow in the 82nd minute, they still held on to give each team a point for their efforts.
The point does give Celtic their first positive moment in an otherwise dismal group stage, however, they are still in last place in Group E, three points back of even Europa League knockout qualification with group play halfway finished.
They visit Madrid on November 7 for the away leg, and have a packed Scottish Premiership schedule in the meantime, with a visit to Hibernian on Saturday.
PSG 3 – 0 AC Milan
Another defeating performance from AC Milan saw the team soundly defeated by PSG, in a game which saw both Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah put in admirable performances, considering the circumstance and outcome, in the visitors’ starting lineup.
Despite PSG largely controlling the proceedings from whistle to whistle, Pulisic did have one decent chance, seeing his lone shot saved by former Milan keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma near the hour mark.
Still, the French powerhouse had little problem manhandling their Italian visitors, with Kylian Mbappé a complete nuisance with the opening goal, five total shots, and a pair of created chances.
The 24-year-old star opened the scoring two minutes past the half-hour, somehow creating a shooting lane amidst pressure from a trio of Milan defenders to bury the 1-0 to the lower left corner.
Six minutes after Ousmane Dembele’s goal was called back for a foul in the buildup, Randal Kolo Muani added PSG’s second in the 53rd minute, taking advantage of a weakly blocked shot by Milan keeper Mike Maignan, and tapping the follow-up over the line for the 2-0 lead.
Pulisic’s shot from the edge of the area in the 63rd was struck directly toward Donnarumma, who made the easy grab to prevent any further danger, then the American set up Rafael Leao in the 77th minute for a shot from the left that was just a couple feet too wide of the lower corner.
Substitute Kang-In Lee added PSG’s insurance goal with one minute left, left all alone just beyond the penalty area with enough space to pick out his spot at the lower right corner.
The Rossoneri are bottom of Group F with just two points from their first three games. A win in the San Siro against PSG on November 7 could see them climb, however, is a tall order considering their form so far in the competition. They are next on the field on Sunday night with a touch Serie A matchup at Napoli.
Notes
Gio Reyna played the final 12 minutes of Dortmund’s important 1-0 road win over Newcastle. With Group F at its halfway point, BVB are in second place on four points and can take a big step towards advancing should they beat the English team when they meet again at Signal Iduna Park on November 7. In the meantime, they visit Frankfurt in Bundesliga play on Sunday afternoon.
Sam Vines is still injured and not included in Royal Antwerp’s group-stage roster and thankfully missed their 4-1 home loss to FC Porto on Wednesday. The team is dead-last in Group H with no points from their first three games, and looking headed for a merciful exit from European competition.
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