PSV leave it late to beat Rapid away

"LandepNews"

PSV leave it late to beat Rapid away

PSV Eindhoven left it late against Rapid Bucharest whom the Dutch beat 3-1 in a late drama on National Arena, to go top of the group C in Europa League.
The hosts opened the score through Alexa amid the first term, but a late comeback saw the Dutch champions score a couple of goals. Bouma leveled the score with two minutes left in the first half, while Toivonen and Matavz scored the last two within the last two minutes of the meeting. Pancu was the first to bring danger on Isaksson’s goal in the ninth minute but the Romanian saw his shot missed.
PSV  first put their opponents in trouble in the 21^st minute when Mertens missed two big chances which should have brought the opener for Fred Rutten’s side. Wijnaldum found the target two minutes later but it was keeper Coman to deny the Dutch with some effort. Panco then tried his luck with a shot from the egde of the box to which Isaksson was equal though.
The 28^th minute saw the hosts open the score through Alexa who beat the keeper from close range with a well placed header. Michi Roman delivered a perfect corner on the left which Pancu deflected as far as his team mate defender to put his side into the lead. But with two minutes left in the first half Bouma leveled the score after a long free kick from the right taken by Strootman.
Bouma beat the keeper from very close range after taking advantage of a poor marking inside the six yard box. Romanians’ scorer Alexa and Pancu finished the first half with two yellow cards, one apiece, as the hosts were already losing concentration.
Coach Razvan Lucescu made the first change in the 51^st minute, introducing Filipe Teixeira for Roman. Meanwhile, Strootman conceded a yellow card for a tough challenge. Rapid received a third yellow card through former Schalke player Deac who was cautioned by the referee in the 56^th minute for a trip on Lens. Marcos Antonio tried his luck with a range shot which missed the target as the hosts were desperately looking for a second lead.
Mertens missed a golden chance for PSV in the 70^th minute as the Dutch were also chasing the winner. The visitors replaced Lens with Labyad two minutes later, while Rapid also introduced Apostol for Herea. With ten minutes left, PSV conceded yet another yellow card through Mertenes. Cassio replaced Pancu for Rapid two minutes later but the unexpected was yet to come for the Romanians.
After Rui Duarte saw his first yellow in the 85^th minute PSV were simply besieging the hosts’ goal. At first, Mertens missed the target from good position only to suggest a late drama on the National Arena. Toivonen stunned their opponents with a perfect back header from ten yards which beat keeper Coman into the top corner.
Furthermore, PSV made it even 3-1 with one minute left through Matavz who brought his side a big win following a lovely action on the left which saw Mertens feed the striker inside the box from where he put it home into the right hand post. The Dutch beat Rapid and are unbeaten in group C.
Eindhoven lead the table with six points earned in two games, being followed by Legia Warszawa and Rapid with three points. Hapoel Tel Aviv lie foot of the table with zero points as the Israeli were edged 3-2 by Legia on Wojska Polskiego.
Said PSV coach Rutten at the end of the game: “A fair victory in the end, given our share in the game and the opportunities we had. Despite we had a number of sloppy moments, I think that we played impressively. I think, we played the first-half better. However, the second-half was a bit dead. In the end, we scored at the right time. We are happy to take all three points back home.”
PSV will next travel to bottom Hapoel on Bloomfield stadium on October 20, while Rapid welcome Legia Warszawa on Valentin Stanescu stadium the same day.
Rapid Bucharest – Coman; Bozovic, Burca, Marcos, Duarte; Alexa, Herea, Grigore; Roman, Deac; Pancu. Reserves: Glauber, C. Straton, I. Apostol, Ezequias, S. Sburlea, Cassio, F. Teixeira.
PSV Eindhoven – Isaksson; Pieters, Bouma, Marcelo, Manolev; Strootman, Wijnaldum, Tolvonen, Mertens, Lens; Matavz. Reserves: A. Tamata, Z. Labyad, K. Sinouh, T. Derijck, O. Engelaar, R. Ibrahim, F. Ojo.

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