UEFA Champions League League Stage - 1

PSV Eindhoven 1 - 3 FT Union St. Gilloise

Philips Stadion

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55
FT
Tue, Sep 16
PSV Eindhoven
1-3
Union St. Gilloise
⚡ Intensity 57
⚖️ Balance 24
🏆 Stakes 33
🎲 Upset 0
Union St. Gilloise stuns PSV at Philips Stadion

Union St. Gilloise's Surgical Strike Stuns PSV at Philips Stadion

Worth Watching Futmetrix Score: 55/100. A masterclass in counter-attacking ruthlessness: Union St. Gilloise exposed PSV's defensive fragility to claim a statement 3-1 victory in the opening Champions League round, leaving the Dutch giants reeling.

The Upset Unfolds

From the first whistle at Philips Stadion, P. David handed Union St. Gilloise the perfect start—a ninth-minute penalty that set the tone for what would become a clinic in clinical finishing. PSV dominated possession (63%), stringing together 530 passes with 83% accuracy, yet the balance of the match tilted decisively toward the visitors' efficiency. Anouar Ait El Hadj doubled the lead before half-time with a composed finish, leaving PSV chasing shadows despite their territorial control. The intensity of Union's transitions—quick, purposeful, lethal—turned Philips Stadion into a hunting ground rather than a fortress.

The Turning Point: Defensive Collapse

PSV's undoing came not from lack of effort but from catastrophic positioning. Ruben van Bommel pulled one back in the 90th minute, a consolation that arrived far too late. By then, K. Mac Allister had already sealed the rout in the 81st minute, assisted by K. Rodriguez, exposing the chasm between PSV's possession (10 total shots, just 3 on target) and Union's ruthless execution (18 shots, 8 on target). The expected goals told the story: Union (3.34 xG) simply converted with greater precision than their hosts (2.52 xG). Christian Burgess anchored Union's defense with a commanding performance, denying PSV any rhythm in the final third despite their dominance in midfield.

The Stakes Shift

This was no fluke. Union St. Gilloise arrived at Philips Stadion as underdogs and left as statement-makers. The upset factor was always present—a Belgian side against Dutch royalty in Europe's elite competition—but they neutralized it through discipline and precision. PSV's 7 corners and 63% possession proved hollow; Union's 8 offsides suggested aggressive positioning but also a team unafraid to take risks. The result: three points on the road in the Champions League, a foundation for a remarkable campaign.

Key Questions

Why did PSV dominate possession yet lose decisively?

PSV lacked clinical finishing (3 shots on target) while Union converted ruthlessly. Possession without precision is sterile in European football.

Was the early penalty decisive?

Yes—it shifted momentum instantly. Union's confidence soared while PSV faced an uphill battle from minute 9 onward.

What does this mean for the group stage?

Union St. Gilloise has announced itself as a legitimate threat. PSV must regroup immediately or risk early elimination.

How is the Futmetrix Score calculated?

The Futmetrix Score (0-100) combines multiple factors: match intensity, competitive balance, stakes importance, and entertainment value to help you decide if this match is worth watching.

Match Statistics

Possession
63%
37%
PSV Eindhoven 63%
Union St. Gilloise 37%
Shots
10
18
PSV Eindhoven 10
Union St. Gilloise 18
Shots on Target
3
8
PSV Eindhoven 3
Union St. Gilloise 8
Expected Goals (xG)
2.52
3.34
PSV Eindhoven 2.52
Union St. Gilloise 3.34
Passes
530
317
PSV Eindhoven 530
Union St. Gilloise 317
Pass Accuracy
83%
74%
PSV Eindhoven 83%
Union St. Gilloise 74%
Corners
7
7
PSV Eindhoven 7
Union St. Gilloise 7
Fouls
9
9
PSV Eindhoven 9
Union St. Gilloise 9
Yellow Cards
0
0
PSV Eindhoven 0
Union St. Gilloise 0
Red Cards
0
0
PSV Eindhoven 0
Union St. Gilloise 0

Match Events

P. David 9'
A. Ait El Hadj 39'
HT
46' 🔄 A. Obispo A. Salah-Eddine
46' 🔄 J. Schouten G. Til
P. David M. Giger 🔄 67'
74' 🔄 I. Saibari P. Wanner
74' 🔄 R. Pepi M. Boadu
A. Ait El Hadj K. Van De Perre 🔄 75'
80' 🔄 PSV Eindhoven D. Man
K. Mac Allister (K. Rodriguez) 81'
K. Rodriguez R. Schoofs 🔄 88'
90' R. van Bommel
FT

Player Cards

Season performance ratings for players in this match

PSV Eindhoven

Goalkeepers
M. Kovar
MAGNET
MAGNET
48
activity
48
activity
46
passes
2
duels
Defenders
S. Dest
DRIBBLER
DRIBBLER
6
dribbles
6
dribbles
13
attempts
46%
success %
R. Flamingo
WALL
WALL
0
dribbled past
0
dribbled past
3
tackles
50%
duel win %
A. Obispo
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Y. Gasiorowski
WALL
WALL
0
dribbled past
0
dribbled past
4
tackles
82%
duel win %
Midfielders
J. Schouten
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
J. Veerman
MAGNET
MAGNET
91
activity
91
activity
82
passes
9
duels
I. Perisic
SWEEPER
SWEEPER
7
cleanups
7
cleanups
5
interceptions
2
blocks
I. Saibari
STORMTROOPER
STORMTROOPER
3
shots
3
shots
0
goals
0
on target
R. van Bommel
CLUTCH HERO
CLUTCH HERO
0
goal time
0
goal time
0
impact
8.2
rating
Forwards
R. Pepi
FRIENDLY FIRE
FRIENDLY FIRE
0
mistake
0
mistake
1
fouls
5.6
rating
BENCH
N. Olij
SPECTATOR
SPECTATOR
0
saves
0
saves
0
conceded
0
minutes
N. Schiks
SPECTATOR
SPECTATOR
0
saves
0
saves
0
conceded
0
minutes
A. Salah-Eddine
PROVOCATEUR
PROVOCATEUR
2
fouls won
2
fouls won
4
Duels Won
0
pens won
E. Waayers
CAMEO
CAMEO
0
minutes
0
minutes
0
touches
None
events
A. Nagalo
CAMEO
CAMEO
0
minutes
0
minutes
0
touches
None
events
P. Wanner
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
G. Til
SWEEPER
SWEEPER
2
cleanups
2
cleanups
1
interceptions
1
blocks
C. Driouech
CAMEO
CAMEO
0
minutes
0
minutes
0
touches
None
events
E. Bajraktarevic
CAMEO
CAMEO
0
minutes
0
minutes
0
touches
None
events
M. Boadu
CAMEO
CAMEO
6
minutes
6
minutes
0
touches
None
events
D. Man
CAMEO
CAMEO
10
minutes
10
minutes
4
touches
None
events

Union St. Gilloise

Goalkeepers
K. Scherpen
SWEEPER
SWEEPER
1
cleanups
1
cleanups
1
interceptions
0
blocks
Defenders
K. Mac Allister
SNIPER
SNIPER
100%
conversion
100%
conversion
1
goals
1
shots
C. Burgess
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
F. Leysen
ENFORCER
ENFORCER
7
tackles
7
tackles
8
Duels Won
80%
win %
Midfielders
A. Khalaili
SWEEPER
SWEEPER
5
cleanups
5
cleanups
5
interceptions
0
blocks
A. Zorgane
NPC
NPC
90
minutes
90
minutes
37%
pass acc
6.5
rating
M. Rasmussen
ARCHITECT
ARCHITECT
4
key passes
4
key passes
0
assists
32%
pass acc
O. Niang
PROVOCATEUR
PROVOCATEUR
4
fouls won
4
fouls won
9
Duels Won
0
pens won
Forwards
A. Ait El Hadj
SNIPER
SNIPER
50%
conversion
50%
conversion
1
goals
2
shots
K. Rodriguez
MAGNET
MAGNET
48
activity
48
activity
24
passes
24
duels
P. David
FINISHER
FINISHER
1
goals
1
goals
3
shots
6.9
rating
BENCH
V. Chambaere
SPECTATOR
SPECTATOR
0
saves
0
saves
0
conceded
0
minutes
M. T. Barry
CAMEO
CAMEO
0
minutes
0
minutes
0
touches
None
events
R. Sykes
CAMEO
CAMEO
0
minutes
0
minutes
0
touches
None
events
L. Patris
CAMEO
CAMEO
0
minutes
0
minutes
0
touches
None
events
K. Van De Perre
👻 Invisible Nothing to note
Guilherme Smith
CAMEO
CAMEO
0
minutes
0
minutes
0
touches
None
events
R. Schoofs
CAMEO
CAMEO
2
minutes
2
minutes
4
touches
None
events
S. Berradi
CAMEO
CAMEO
0
minutes
0
minutes
0
touches
None
events
M. Giger
SWEEPER
SWEEPER
1
cleanups
1
cleanups
1
interceptions
0
blocks
S. Boufal
CAMEO
CAMEO
0
minutes
0
minutes
0
touches
None
events

League Standings

Pos Team P Pts GF GA GD Form
1 Eintracht Frankfurt 1 3 5 1 +4 WEintracht Frankfurt 5 - 1 Galatasaray (18-09-2025)
2 Paris Saint Germain 1 3 4 0 +4 WParis Saint Germain 4 - 0 Atalanta (17-09-2025)
3 Sporting CP 1 3 4 1 +3 WSporting CP 4 - 1 Kairat Almaty (18-09-2025)
4 Club Brugge KV 1 3 4 1 +3 WClub Brugge KV 4 - 1 Monaco (18-09-2025)
5 Bayern München 1 3 3 1 +2 WBayern München 3 - 1 Chelsea (17-09-2025)
6 Union St. Gilloise 1 3 3 1 +2 WPSV Eindhoven 1 - 3 Union St. Gilloise (16-09-2025)
7 Arsenal 1 3 2 0 +2 WAthletic Club 0 - 2 Arsenal (16-09-2025)
8 Manchester City 1 3 2 0 +2 WManchester City 2 - 0 Napoli (18-09-2025)
9 Inter 1 3 2 0 +2 WAjax 0 - 2 Inter (17-09-2025)
10 Liverpool 1 3 3 2 +1 WLiverpool 3 - 2 Atletico Madrid (17-09-2025)
11 Qarabag 1 3 3 2 +1 WBenfica 2 - 3 Qarabag (16-09-2025)
12 Barcelona 1 3 2 1 +1 WNewcastle 1 - 2 Barcelona (18-09-2025)
13 Real Madrid 1 3 2 1 +1 WReal Madrid 2 - 1 Marseille (16-09-2025)
14 Tottenham 1 3 1 0 +1 WTottenham 1 - 0 Villarreal (16-09-2025)
15 Borussia Dortmund 1 1 4 4 0 DJuventus 4 - 4 Borussia Dortmund (16-09-2025)
16 Juventus 1 1 4 4 0 DJuventus 4 - 4 Borussia Dortmund (16-09-2025)
17 Bayer Leverkusen 1 1 2 2 0 DFC Copenhagen 2 - 2 Bayer Leverkusen (18-09-2025)
18 Bodo/Glimt 1 1 2 2 0 DSlavia Praha 2 - 2 Bodo/Glimt (17-09-2025)
19 FC Copenhagen 1 1 2 2 0 DFC Copenhagen 2 - 2 Bayer Leverkusen (18-09-2025)
20 Slavia Praha 1 1 2 2 0 DSlavia Praha 2 - 2 Bodo/Glimt (17-09-2025)
21 Olympiakos Piraeus 1 1 0 0 0 DOlympiakos Piraeus 0 - 0 Pafos (17-09-2025)
22 Pafos 1 1 0 0 0 DOlympiakos Piraeus 0 - 0 Pafos (17-09-2025)
23 Benfica 1 0 2 3 -1 LBenfica 2 - 3 Qarabag (16-09-2025)
24 Atletico Madrid 1 0 2 3 -1 LLiverpool 3 - 2 Atletico Madrid (17-09-2025)
25 Newcastle 1 0 1 2 -1 LNewcastle 1 - 2 Barcelona (18-09-2025)
26 Marseille 1 0 1 2 -1 LReal Madrid 2 - 1 Marseille (16-09-2025)
27 Villarreal 1 0 0 1 -1 LTottenham 1 - 0 Villarreal (16-09-2025)
28 Chelsea 1 0 1 3 -2 LBayern München 3 - 1 Chelsea (17-09-2025)
29 PSV Eindhoven 1 0 1 3 -2 LPSV Eindhoven 1 - 3 Union St. Gilloise (16-09-2025)
30 Ajax 1 0 0 2 -2 LAjax 0 - 2 Inter (17-09-2025)
31 Napoli 1 0 0 2 -2 LManchester City 2 - 0 Napoli (18-09-2025)
32 Athletic Club 1 0 0 2 -2 LAthletic Club 0 - 2 Arsenal (16-09-2025)
33 Monaco 1 0 1 4 -3 LClub Brugge KV 4 - 1 Monaco (18-09-2025)
34 Kairat Almaty 1 0 1 4 -3 LSporting CP 4 - 1 Kairat Almaty (18-09-2025)
35 Galatasaray 1 0 1 5 -4 LEintracht Frankfurt 5 - 1 Galatasaray (18-09-2025)
36 Atalanta 1 0 0 4 -4 LParis Saint Germain 4 - 0 Atalanta (17-09-2025)