PSV Eindhoven vs Leicester City. UEFA Europa Conference League Quarter-finals.
Philips StadionAttendance35,000.
1-2
The Foxes fell behind when Erhan Zahavi punished Youri Tielemans' first-half mistake; James Maddison equalised with 13 minutes left with a stunning high finish; Ricardo scored a dramatic equaliser on 88 minutes; Leicester will face Roma in the last four
Friday 15 April 2022 08:19, UK
Leicester dramatically scored twice in the final 13 minutes to turn around their Europa Conference League quarter-final at PSV Eindhoven to reach the last four via a 2-1 victory.
Despite starting well in Holland, Brendan Rodgers' side found themselves behind when Youri Tielemans' mistake was punished by Erhan Zahavi, who finished past Kasper Schmeichel via Jonny Evans' deflection.
The Foxes spurned some good chances through Harvey Barnes and Patson Daka, but finally found an equaliser on 77 minutes when substitute Ayoze Perez squared for James Maddison to finish high into the net.#
With two minutes left, Ricardo Pereira finished on the rebound after Daka's shot was saved by PSV goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo to send the travelling Foxes fans into raptures - and Rodgers' squad into the last four where they will play Jose Mourinho's Roma, who beat Bodo/Glimt.
For most of the Eindhoven evening, Leicester were dominant in possession but lacked composure in their final ball. That was apparent from the off as, while the Foxes had the better of the play, their Dutch hosts did more with it.
Warning signs were made by PSV when Schmeichel had to save from both Mario Gotze and Mauro Jr, though the best chance of the opening 25 minutes fell to the visitors.
Kelechi Iheanacho, who had a relatively quiet night in front of goal, put Barnes completely through but the Leicester No 7 could only fire wide, despite having Maddison free as a square option.
Barnes and Leicester were made to pay for that miss a few minutes later when Tielemans' backpass from deep went straight to Gotze. The Germany international fed Zahavi on the right, who smashed past Schmeichel with his effort taking a slight nick off Evans.
The Foxes almost responded straight away, with Maddison's deflected effort being cleared off the line acrobatically by Jordan Teze, while Timothy Castagne headed wide after Tielemans' deep cross from the right.
Rodgers shuffled his striker pack at the break with Daka and Ademola Lookman coming on at half-time for Marc Albrighton and Barnes - but it was PSV who had the better of the second period.
Zahavi headed over from a corner from six yards out when he should have done better, but the best chance fell to Ibrahima Sangare, whose one-two with captain Cody Gakpo only resulted in him firing over the bar from a good position.
Suddenly, Leicester - who struggled with their final ball until well into the second period - made their opponents pay for their lack of profligacy. It was another Rodgers substitute who played a key role in their equaliser.
Ricardo found replacement Ayoze Perez on the right, who ventured into the box on the byline before squaring to Maddison who finished high and defiantly into the roof of the net.
Suddenly, PSV were rocked. Manager Rodger Schmidt threw attacking players on himself, including former Spurs striker Carlos Vinicius, but Leicester had their tails up.
PSV goalkeeper Mvogo saved well from Perez in the final 10 minutes of the game - but the Foxes finally got their moment.
The excellent Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall found Lookman in the box with a beautiful pass around the corner, the winger found Daka whose shot was saved by Mvogo - but Ricardo was there to finish on the rebound.
PSV had little time to react to the quick-fire double, with Wesley Fofana and Evans standing firm in the final few minutes to earn the Foxes their first European semi-final appearance.
While Maddison and Ricardo were the Foxes' heroes, the former paid tribute to 21-year-old defender Fofana for producing a top performance at the back during his Ramadan fasting season.
The Frenchman, who is only just back from a long-term leg injury, was excellent in one-on-one scenarios and stopped promising attacks from Gotze and Zahavi in the second half with some well-timed tackles.
"The togetherness of the boys is unbelievable," said Maddison after the game. "For example, Wesley Fofana is fasting at the minute - he's not eating or drinking anything all day and he puts in a performance like that! He's stopping all the counter attacks by sprinting! That epitomises what we are about in terms of courage.
"I'm so proud of the boys, so proud of everyone. It was maybe a bit of a slow start but we showed that resilience, togetherness and that quality to win the game. It's a great feeling."
Matchwinner Ricardo also paid tribute to Leicester's togetherness, especially considering the fierce Eindhoven home crowd on Thursday night.
The Portuguese defender added: "It's very good even with that adverse conditions for us playing away, the crowd was on fire so we knew we had to stick together and we knew that helps the team to do it."
Credit should go to Rodgers for making the three attacking changes in Lookman, Daka and Ayoze Perez - who all had major involvements in Leicester's two late goals.
The Foxes boss believed the speed of his side's play was too slow in the first half, which prompted him to take Barnes and Albrighton off.
"The first half, the guys worked hard but we were too slow in the tempo of our game. The build-up was too ponderous. We didn't get it forward quick enough to create chances. The speed of our game and mobility was better in the second half and we looked very good going forwards and scored two good goals.
"The guys worked hard, Marc and Barnesy, on the outside but we needed more movement, more penetration in our game - especially with them being 1-0 up and they were going to sit back. We needed more mobility and rotation to create more space on the field."
Rodgers was full of praise for the improvement in the second half, especially given the personality his young side showed to come from behind in a tough atmosphere.
"I thought to come here against a team who has got a great record where they score a lot of goals and win, I'm so proud. I'm so happy for the supporters, who gave us great support on the evening.
"Great credit should go to the players, the personality in the second half was there, the intensity was there. Sometimes we don't make it easy for ourselves, but the level of our game in the second half was outstanding. I'm happy for everyone really.
"We're a team that's young in terms of European football. We come to PSV Eindhoven with a great history in winning the European Cup in 1988. For us, we're so young in it.
"These are great experiences for us, we showed great personality and I'm so happy for the players and it's the first semi-final in our history."
Leicester vs Roma
Feyenoord vs Marseille
Ties played on April 28 and May 5
Leicester are back in Premier League action as they head to Newcastle on Sunday, kick-off at 2.15pm. Brendan Rodgers' side will be hoping to continue their three-game unbeaten run at St James' Park, before a midweek trip to relegation-threatened Everton on Wednesday, kick-off 7.45pm.
PSV have a huge game on Sunday against Eredevise title rivals Ajax, managed by prospective Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag, as they go head to head in the KNVB Cup final; kick-off at 5pm. With just five games left of the league season, PSV trail Ten Hag's Ajax by only four points.
