Eindhoven won the first leg of the Europa Conference League play-offs 1-0 against Tel Aviv. An early goal was enough to win in the end, but it leaves everything open for the second leg.
At the beginning of the match, both teams felt each other out before Eindhoven had the first chance: The home side played well forward on the left, Gakpo made a clever hook in the sixteen and finished down the left (11th). The perfect start for Roger Schmidt’s team.
This goal gave the favourites from the Netherlands courage. The hosts, for whom Götze played a rather inconspicuous first half, pressed for the 2:0, Madueke’s header was too unplaced (14.), and Gutierrez also did not bring the necessary accuracy on his finish with his head. Tel Aviv did almost nothing offensively, only Biton came close with a free kick (27th). PSV were more dangerous, Zahavi also missed his team’s second goal with a free kick before the break (38th).
In the second half, the game flattened out completely. Eindhoven had more possession and were in control of the match, but did not play with the last consequence for the second goal. It was more a matter of standing securely at the back and not catching the equaliser. Since the visitors were also completely toothless offensively, the score remained 1-0, leaving everything open for the return match in Tel Aviv in a week’s time.
