PSV have now failed to win their opening Champions League fixture in four consecutive seasons. Thursday's 1-1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk at the Philips Stadion came with an argument attached, and the home side spent a good part of the evening furious about a goal they felt should not have stood.
Gleiker Mendoza put Shakhtar in front in the first minute of first-half stoppage time, curling a shot into the bottom right corner for his first goal since joining the Ukrainian club. Sergino Dest levelled it on 48 minutes. Izaki Silva was named man of the match.
The goal PSV did not accept
Mendoza's finish was clean. PSV's complaint was about what happened before it. Their players surrounded the referee insisting that Dest had been fouled in the build-up, and the protests carried on down the tunnel at half-time. The goal stood, and it arrived at the worst possible moment, in added time at the end of a half PSV had largely controlled.
Whatever the merits of the appeal, conceding on the stroke of the interval changed the shape of the game. PSV came out for the second half needing to chase rather than manage.
Dest settled it quickly
They did not have to wait long. Armando Obispo played a low pass in from the left three minutes after the restart, Dest timed his run to arrive just inside the penalty area, and the finish was simple enough. It was the American's answer to the incident he had been at the centre of moments earlier.
After that the match flattened out. PSV had more of the ball and more territory without producing the clear chance they needed, and Shakhtar were content to see the evening out with a point away from home. Neither goalkeeper was seriously tested in the last half-hour.
A familiar problem for PSV
Four straight seasons without an opening-day Champions League win is not a coincidence. PSV consistently qualify, consistently start slowly, and consistently spend the rest of the league phase making up ground. In the 36-team format, where a single point can be the difference between a direct route to the last 16 and a February play-off, that pattern is expensive.
Shakhtar, who continue to play their European home matches away from Ukraine, will be satisfied. They sit eighteenth in the league-phase table after the opening round and have a point on the board from a genuinely difficult away trip.
Match facts: PSV Eindhoven 1-1 Shakhtar Donetsk, UEFA Champions League league phase matchday one, Philips Stadion, Thursday 10 September 2026. Scorers: Mendoza 45+1 (Shakhtar), Dest 48 (PSV, assisted by Armando Obispo). Man of the match: Izaki Silva. PSV have not won their opening Champions League fixture in four seasons.
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