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Nico Schlotterbeck and Mats Hummels complain to referee Srdjan Jovanović

Photo: Dean Mouhtaropoulos / Getty Images

Borussia Dortmund lost a lead in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League and has to be content with a 1-1 (1-0) draw at PSV Eindhoven. First it was the Dutchman Donyell Malen who scored against his former club (24th minute) and gave BVB the lead, Luuk de Jong equalized with a penalty kick (56th).

PSV, trained by former Dortmund coach Peter Bosz, went into the duel with a lot of self-confidence: In the domestic Eredivisie, the Eindhoven team is still unbeaten after 22 match days, with 20 wins and two draws.

The first good opportunities also belonged to the hosts. A deflected ball from Malik Tillman landed at Alexander Meyer, who had moved into the goal after Gregor Kobel was injured during the warm-up (14th). In return, Malen recorded BVB's first shot on goal (15th), but the next PSV attempt was more dangerous, which Tillman placed just next to the goal from the edge of the penalty area (16th).

Malen then gave a lesson in efficiency - albeit with a lot of luck: Emre Can won the ball on the left wing. Via the high pass by Niclas Füllkrug and Marcel Sabitzer, the BVB move led to Malen, who penetrated the penalty area from a pointy spot Winkel took the shot and cheered cautiously when Sergiño Dest's deflected shot bounced off the bottom edge of the crossbar and into the goal (24').

A Dutch attack followed: Johan Bakayoko was released at the second post, but failed to put a volley on target (37'), and Meyer deflected a hard shot from Ismael Saibari for a corner (40').

Hummels hits the ball and the opponent

After the break, the picture of active Dutch and defensively challenged Dortmund continued. The equalizing goal required a referee's decision that Mats Hummels didn't like at all: The Dortmund defensive veteran first tipped the ball off Tillman's foot, but then slid into the PSV attacker so that he couldn't stay on his feet.

Referee Srdjan Jovanović awarded a penalty and the VAR refused to change his mind. De Jong converted confidently from the spot (56th). Hummels, who, like Marco Reus, played his 85th European Cup game for BVB and thus drew level with record holder Stefan Reuter, showed little understanding for the decision.

BVB now had to do more for the game and kept the final phase evenly balanced; Marius Wolf had another great chance with a back-heel volley after a free kick (72'). On the other side, Dest was denied by Meyer from a tight angle (81'). However, no team gained an advantage for the second leg on March 13th in Dortmund (9 p.m., stream: DAZN).

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