American foreigner Ricardo Pepi came off the bench as PSV Eindhoven bounced back from a two-goal lead against Sevilla and qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League for the first time since 2015-16.
Pepi entered the match in the 83rd minute and scored the winner in stoppage time to give PSV a 3-2 win over 10-man Sevilla on Wednesday, leaving the Dutch club in second place in Group B, one point behind Arsenal and three points in front of third-place Lens.
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“To be honest, when I saw that we were scoring the goal at 2-2, I spoke to [his teammate] [Patrick [van Aanholt] and said, ‘This is our moment,'” Pepi said. “We felt that we had scored a very important goal and we knew that the winner would come. “
The Dutch club, after Group B leaders Arsenal, beat third-placed Lens 6-0 in London.
PSV has 8 points, 4 behind Arsenal and 3 ahead of Lens, who lost the tiebreaker to PSV.
Sevilla were left with two problems and were eliminated. They will fight for third place (and a position in the Europa League) when they face Lens in the last round. This is the third consecutive season that the Spanish club has failed to make it past the next phase. the organization stage.
“In the Champions League, small important points will make the difference,” said veteran defender Sergio Ramos, who scored the 10,000th goal in Champions League history from the organizational level to the final. “We had control, but it turned out to be shooting a man. “
It’s PSV’s first away win in the Champions League since 2007. PSV won back-to-back matches at the festival – outside the qualifying rounds – for the first time since the 2006-07 season, when they won 3 straight out in the group. a step towards the quarter-finals, when they were eliminated by Liverpool. PSV had beaten Lens in the last round.
Sevilla opened the scoring in the minute with Ramos scoring his first goal since his return to Sevilla.
Youssef En-Nesyri doubled the lead in the 47th minute, but PSV rallied after Sevilla striker Lucas Ocampos was sent off with a second yellow card in the 66th.
Ismael Saibari pulled the visitors closer two minutes later with an adorable left-footed shot from the box after a cross from U. S. defender Sergiño Dest, and PSV equalized with an own goal from Nemanja Gudelj in the 81st minute before Pepi scored from Nemanja Gudelj. With a header near the penalty spot two minutes into stoppage time.
Sevilla midfielder Fernando was sent off in the final minutes.
The hosts had a few chances to add to their lead in the first half, first when Djibril Sow had a goal disallowed by video review for a handball in the 39th, and then a minute later when En-Nesyri hit the crossbar with a dangerous header.
Ramos, 37, scored his 10,000th goal on a free kick taken by Ivan Rakitic. It was the veteran defender’s first goal for Sevilla since scoring in a 2-2 draw with Real Madrid in 2005, before joining the Spanish powerhouse.
“We have to hold our heads high,” Ramos said. But it’s disappointing because you can’t participate in this competition. Today was a difficult defeat for the club. “
The Associated Press contributed to this report.