Juventus and PSV Eindhoven faced off for the second time in this season’s Champions League, with the Italians once again emerging victorious. In the opening round of the main stage, Juventus had defeated PSV 3-1 at the Allianz Stadium. This time, they met at the same venue but at the knockout stage of the competition.

The first half saw both teams register seven shots each, but only one posed a real threat—and it proved decisive. After receiving a pass from Federico Gatti, Randal Kolo Muani forced a save from Benítez, but Gatti quickly recovered the ball and set up Weston McKennie, who unleashed a powerful strike from the edge of the box to give Juventus the lead.

Otherwise, both goalkeepers were in control, comfortably dealing with shots on target that lacked power or watching as speculative efforts sailed wide.

At halftime, Mbangula replaced Yildiz for Juventus, and the substitute almost made an instant impact. Following a cross from Timothy Weah, Mbangula’s shot was on target, but Flamingo heroically cleared the ball off the line, denying Juventus their second goal in dramatic fashion.

On 56 minutes, PSV equalized. Noa Lang’s shot was blocked by Manuel Locatelli, but the rebound fell kindly to Ivan Perisic, who calmly placed a precise shot into the bottom corner. It was the 36-year-old Croatian’s first Champions League goal since 2021, back when he scored for Inter against Real Madrid.

The decisive moment came in the 82nd minute. Francisco Conceição chased down a ball just before it crossed the end line and fired a low cross. Benítez parried the initial attempt, but the ball fell perfectly for Mbangula, who slotted it into the net. His goal proved to be the match-winner as Juventus secured a 2-1 victory.

2024-25 UEFA Champions League

Juventus - PSV 2:1 (1:0)
Goals: McKennie, 34 (1:0); Perišić I., 56 (1:1); Mbangula, 82 (2:1)

Juventus: Di Gregorio; Gatti; Kelly Ll.; Veiga; Locatelli (Thuram-Ulien, 68); Douglas Luiz; McKennie (Koopmeiners T., 68); Weah; Gonzalez N. (Conceicao F., 58); Yildiz Kenan (Mbangula, 46); Kolo Muani (Vlahović, 77)
Bench: Perin; Pinsoglio; Rouhi; Savona

PSV: Benitez W.; Obispo; Flamingo; Veerman J.; Ledezma R.; Perišić I.; Saibari (Til G., 72); Schouten; Lang N. (Bakayoko J., 71); Mauro Júnior; de Jong L.
Bench: Drommel; Schiks; Kuhn W.; Malacia; Nagalo; Land; Babadi; Bajraktarević; Driouech; Uneken
Yellow Cards: de Jong L. 73