PSV 0 Atletico Madrid 0: Zoet excels for 10-man hosts

Goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet put in a fine performance to help 10-man PSV to a 0-0 draw in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 encounter versus Atletico Madrid at the Philips Stadion on Wednesday.

The Netherlands international made a superb save to deny Antoine Griezmann in the opening 45 minutes, while he also proved to be too much of an obstacle for Koke.

Diego Godin did beat the PSV shot-stopper with a header from a corner after the break, but his effort was deservedly cancelled out for a foul on Hector Moreno.

PSV were dealt a major blow when Gaston Pereiro was sent off for two bookings midway through the second period, with Atletico pushing hard for a winner.

Diego Simeone’s men were unable to capitalise on their numerical advantage, though, with Zoet parrying a shot from Gabi and Fernando Torres firing over as it remained scoreless.

As a result, the tie remains finely balanced ahead of the return leg at the Vicente Calderon on March 15.

Luciano Vietto came close to opening the scoring after just four minutes when he lifted the ball over Zoet following Gabi’s long ball, but Jeffrey Bruma did well to track back and clear the ball off the goal-line.

Koke was next to threaten for Atletico after escaping the attentions of his marker following another fine ball out from the back, but his chipped effort from inside the area lacked the height to surprise Zoet, who was able to make the save.

Zoet excelled himself further on the half-hour mark, rushing from his goal to deny Griezmann with a superb one-handed save after the France international had beaten the offside trap.

A quick combination between Pereiro and Davy Propper afforded the latter an excellent opportunity inside the box but the midfielder’s attempt was straight at Jan Oblak, with Jurgen Locadia’s shot from the rebound blocked by Juanfran.

Koke breathed a sigh of relief 10 minutes into the second half when he nearly beat his own keeper after intercepting Jetro Willems’ cross from the left, with the ball eventually going just wide for a corner.

Godin thought he had broken the deadlock after heading home on the hour-mark, only for the referee to disallow the centre-back’s goal for climbing on Moreno.

PSV were reduced to 10 men in the 68th minute when Pereiro received his second booking after clattering into the head of Godin with his shoulder and Atletico immediately pinned the hosts back inside their own half.

Gabi looked dangerous with a powerful long-range strike, which was parried by the excellent Zoet, before substitute Torres fired over from close range.

Jorrit Hendrix lost possession inside his own half in the 78th minute, allowing Angel Correa to set up Torres, but the former Chelsea striker’s shot deflected wide off a defender.

Maxime Lestienne nearly gave PSV a dramatic winner late on with an ambitious volley after being set up by Hendrix, but his attempt sailed wide to leave the tie intriguingly poised.

Key Opta stats:

– PSV have kept their first clean sheet against Spanish opposition since the April 20, 1988 against Real Madrid (0-0).
– Atletico Madrid have kept 12 clean sheets in their last 16 Champions League games.
– PSV fired in just one shot on target against Atletico.
– Gaston Pereiro is the youngest player to be shown a red card in the Champions League this season (20 years, eight months).