Paris Saint-Germain’s faltering start to this season’s Champions League continued on Tuesday when they were held to a 1-1 draw by PSV Eindhoven in the French capital.
Noa Lang scored shortly after the half-hour mark at the Parc des Princes to give the Dutch champions the lead, but Achraf Hakimi tied early in the second half.
Nonetheless, PSG should have won this game based on the opportunities they produced, but Luis Enrique’s team struggled to put the ball in the net, a reoccurring issue in Europe.
PSG’s displeasure was summed up when they were given a penalty in injury time for a challenge on Marco Asensio in the box, only to have the judgment reversed on review.
In this encounter, the French giants had 25 attempts on goal, while their opponents had only 7. They have only scored twice in their past five Champions League matches, the other being an own-goal against Girona last month.
That run dates back to last season’s semi-final against Borussia Dortmund, which they lost 2-0 on aggregate.
PSG has only four points from a possible nine after a close 1-0 victory over Girona and a 2-0 loss away to Arsenal in their first two games in the new competition format.
There are still five games to play, but they face Atletico Madrid at home next, followed by Bayern Munich away, implying that things will not get any easier.
PSV, however, remains winless, having lost away to Juventus and drawn at home to Sporting.
That demonstrates how significant a step up playing in Europe is for the Dutch team, which has a spotless record after nine games in this season’s Eredivisie.
Ousmane Dembele, who was rested in Ligue 1 last weekend after being controversially dropped against Arsenal earlier this month, returned to PSG’s starting lineup.
Dembele misses
The France winger has never been a dangerous finisher, and he squandered a handful of good opportunities in the first half.
Lee Kang-in, PSG’s favored attacking option over Randal Kolo Muani, was the first to test visiting goalkeeper Walter Benitez.
Dembele should have scored in the 19th minute, when he appeared unmarked at the back post to meet an appealing cross from the left, but his half-volley hit the crossbar.
That was followed by another mistake on the half-hour mark, when Dembele was set up by a superb Joao Neves pass off the chest, but he shot high.
PSV took the lead after 34 minutes, despite offering little going forward.
An Olivier Boscagli interception left the home team vulnerable, and Ismael Saibari set up Lang, who fired a low effort into the corner from the edge of the area.
PSG was on the verge of suffering their sixth Champions League defeat in 15 games since the start of last season, but they produced an equaliser on 55 minutes.
Hakimi attempted a speculative effort from 25 meters that was simply too powerful for Benitez, as the ball went between the goalkeeper’s legs.
The same player came close to putting PSG ahead before the drama unfolded in injury time.
Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg signaled to the spot in the 93rd minute after Boscagli went into a tackle on Asensio, but the defender played the ball, and the penalty was called off after a VAR review.
Benitez then saved PSV with a great save on a Marquinhos header, and the final whistle was welcomed with boos from the home crowd.
The Qatar-owned club’s chances of winning its first Champions League trophy this season are distant.