PSV Eindhoven put in another lifeless performance on Tuesday as they were held 0-0 by Rostov in the Philips Stadion. The result means the club finish bottom of the group and are out of Europe.
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Only a victory was enough for the Dutch side to progress into the Europa League after five games without a win in the Champions League this season. Phillip Cocu once again opted for a 5-3-2 formation with Steven Bergwijn offering support to Luuk de Jong up front.
The first half was a drab affair as the hosts failed to test Rostov goalkeeper Soslan Dzhanaev, with all seven of their first-half goal attempts flying off target. The best chance fell to the visitors just before the break but Dmitri Poloz couldn’t direct his shot past Jeroen Zoet.
In the second half, Cocu opted for plan B with Siem de Jong and Gaston Pereiro coming off the bench as PSV changed to a more attacking formation. However, the substitutions nearly benefited Rostov, who forced Zoet into a fine save from an Azmoun shot.
Towards the end, PSV pushed forward but De Jong and Bergwijn both missed decent chances before Gaston Pereiro was denied by Dzhanaev. A late handball claim in the box went unheard for PSV, who were unable to break the deadlock and so head out of Europe before the winter break.
PSV finish bottom of Group D with only two points from their six matches.
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