Pepi On Fire

Striker stays hot with stoppage-time winner in the Champions League

In a night of pure footballing drama, Ricardo Pepi produced the crucial stoppage-time winner that completed a miraculous 3-2 comeback victory against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.

Trailing 2-0 deep into the second half after first-half goals from Danylo Sikan and Oleksandr Zubkov, PSV seemed destined for defeat. The turning point came with Shakhtar's Pedrinho receiving a red card in the 69th minute, giving PSV a numerical advantage that they would ultimately capitalize on.

Teammate Malik Tillman sparked the comeback with two quick goals - a deflected free-kick in the 87th minute and a spectacular top-corner strike in the 90th minute. Then, five minutes into injury time, Pepi delivered the knockout blow, finding himself unmarked at the back post and coolly slotting home the winner.

"I think definitely this one. To be honest, it is up there for sure,” Pepi said after being asked if it was the most important goal of his career. “I had a similar goal last year in the Champions League — a very important goal, but I think this one was important. We needed the three points and now we get put in a good spot to eventually make it to the next round.” PSV.nl

With this win, PSV moves up to 18th in the Champions League group stage, keeping their hopes of progression alive. In the Eredivisie, they continue to dominate, sitting five points clear at the top of the table with 36 points from 13 games.

"It was crazy, to be honest, but I feel like we have something special in our group," Pepi explained. "We don't stop until the final whistle blows. I think that is something very special that we have worked on and at the end of the day, the result went our way and it was something very special tonight." PSV.nl

Tillman echoed Pepi's excitement, describing the moment as "crazy" and saying, "Incredible comeback. I honestly don’t know what to say, it’s an amazing comeback. After the second goal, I think everyone went crazy, so that pushed us as well. Thanks to the fans and the defense as well." PSV.nl

The victory is particularly significant for Pepi, who joined PSV last summer for €11 million after a successful loan at Groningen. He has already made a significant impact, scoring 10 goals in all competitions, including nine in the Eredivisie - a joint league-leading tally.

"Emotions are all over the place," Pepi said. "I was very happy. It was a crazy game, a lot of emotions going through the game being down 2-0 and eventually coming back and winning 3-2. It doesn't feel real. At the end of the day, I'm just very happy to help the team." PSV.nl