PSV took an important point against Olympiacos FC in the absolute closing stages thanks to a goal by Ricardo Pepi. At the swirling Georgios Karaiskákis stadium, Peter Bosz 's team struggled for a long time against a fierce and disciplined Olympiacos, but Pepi provided the liberating equalizer in injury time. In addition, Mauro Júnior and Ivan Perišić reached a special milestone in their PSV careers.
PSV had a difficult night in Athens. Whereas the game in the previous UEFA Champions League match against SSC Napoli still looked smooth and dynamic, this time PSV struggled to create clear-cut chances. Olympiacos put on a lot of pressure and changed gear quickly when the ball was lost, so PSV could rarely really be dangerous. Yet the team showed resilience: in the 93rd minute it was Ricardo Pepi who stood in the right place and gave his team a point. With that, PSV is currently in 17th place in the UCL rankings.
Ricardo Pepi on target
For Pepi, it marked his fifth goal in the UEFA Champions League and his second of this season. Submissions from the American remain special. The striker scored against Napoli, Fortuna Sittard and now against Olympiacos while not starting at kickoff.
For Ricardo, it is his third result-changing goal in extra time of a UCL game. This makes him the record holder along with Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Agüero.
Match statistics
Although the numbers spoke in PSV's favor on paper, Peter Bosz 's team failed to convert that superiority into truly dangerous chances. With 54% ball possession, PSV had more control than Olympiacos FC (46%), and also completed 447 passes with 91% accuracy, compared to 258 passes and 83% accuracy for the Greeks.
Yet that predominance hardly translated into threat in front of goal. PSV managed nine shots, only two of which were on target. Olympiacos FC was slightly more productive offensively with fifteen shots, four of them between the posts. Both teams thus remained far from a truly convincing attacking performance.
Special milestones for Mauro and Ivan
For Mauro Júnior and Ivan Perišić it was a memorable game. The Brazilian played his 175th official match in the PSV shirt, while the Croatian recorded his 50th appearance for the club.