Leicester’s Europa Conference League quarter-final is finely poised after a goalless first leg against PSV Eindhoven at the King Power Stadium.
Brendan Rodgers’ side have endured an inconsistent season but keep alive their hopes of lifting silverware come the end of the campaign.
The hosts came closest to breaking the deadlock on the stroke of half-time but lively winger Harvey Barnes rattled the crossbar following a one-two with Kelechi Iheanacho.
PSV should have taken the lead in just the second minute when Mario Gotze evaded the offside trap but Kasper Schmeichel spread himself wide to deny the German World Cup winner.
The two sides meet at the Philips Stadium in the second leg next Thursday for the right to meet Roma or Bodo/Glimt in the last four.
That tie saw Norwegians Bodo/Glimt score in the 89th minute to take a 2-1 advantage into the second leg.
Chances at a premium
This was only Leicester’s second European quarter-final following their Champions League exploits five years ago which ended when they were knocked out by Atletico Madrid.
PSV are the more experienced side in continental competition and won the old European Cup back in 1988.
Roger Schmidt’s side are second in the Eredivisie, four points adrift of leaders Ajax, and are playing in their third European competition of the season.
They were knocked out of the Champions League play-offs and then came third in their Europa League group to drop down into this newly formed competition.
And Leicester will have plenty of optimism going into next week’s tie knowing PSV have lost nine out of their past 10 quarter-finals in Europe.
After a watchable first half, the contest disappointingly petered out and in the end there were just three shots on target between the sides.
Gotze’s early effort, thwarted by Schmeichel, was their only shot on target in the entire contest, while goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo’s saves from Timothy Castagne and James Maddison were both comfortable to deal with.
Iheanacho, meanwhile, missed a glorious chance when he ran through on goal but dinked his shot wide, while the Nigerian also shot off target in the second period.
England Under-21 international Noni Madueke blazed over from a promising position for the visitors and Ricardo Pereira was lucky not to concede a penalty when he tripped PSV skipper Cody Gakpo in the box, but the referee waved play on.
The Dutch side sat back and seemed happy to take a draw, with Leicester struggling to create goalscoring opportunities, but the result extended their unbeaten run at home in Europe to 10 games.
Last season’s FA Cup winners are out of that competition this term and are currently 10th in the Premier League, leaving the Europa Conference League as their only chance of lifting a trophy this year.
‘We’re still in a good place’
Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers: “We have shown enough and seen enough to know we can go there and win.
“However it was going to be, it was always going to be tight. You’d love to win it, but it wasn’t to be.
“We showed our resilience defensively and we’ll go there with enough hope that they’ll probably open up a bit more, which will give us a bit more space. It’s finely balanced, I thought it was a good game.
“With a little bit more finesse and precision in our passing then we might have been able to open the scoring. We’re still in a good place.”
PSV boss Roger Schmidt: “I’ve seen it, it was a clear penalty. I’m not a big fan of the VAR so I can’t complain. It was a penalty, but it’s part of football where referees make wrong decisions.
“We accept it and we have to focus on next week. We played a really good game. We had to suffer sometimes, but we played against a really good opponent.
“In total, I’m very happy with the performance. In the first half we had good ball wins, but in the transitions we weren’t quick enough to be available for forward passes.”
Player of the match
Dewsbury-HallKiernan Dewsbury-Hall
Leicester City
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Squad number22Player nameDewsbury-HallAverage rating
7.62
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Squad number3Player nameFofanaAverage rating
7.33
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Squad number10Player nameMaddison
Average rating7.20
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Squad number6Player nameEvans
Average rating7.13
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Squad number27Player nameCastagne
Average rating7.10
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Squad number7Player nameBarnes
Average rating7.00
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Squad number2Player nameJustin
Average rating6.93
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Squad number11Player nameAlbrighton
Average rating6.81
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Squad number8Player nameTielemans
Average rating6.79
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Squad number1Player nameSchmeichel
Average rating6.76
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Squad number21Player nameRicardo Pereira
Average rating6.70
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Squad number14Player nameIheanacho
Average rating6.61
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Squad number29Player nameDaka
Average rating6.27
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Squad number37Player nameLookman
Average rating6.24
PSV Eindhoven
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Squad number19Player nameBruma
Average rating6.66
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Squad number10Player nameMadueke
Average rating6.53
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Squad number25Player nameDoan
Average rating6.35
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Squad number3Player nameTeze
Average rating6.11
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Squad number27Player nameGötze
Average rating5.95
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Squad number6Player nameSangaré
Average rating5.81
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Squad number8Player namevan Ginkel
Average rating5.76
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Squad number18Player nameBoscagli
Average rating5.58
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Squad number17Player nameMauro Júnior
Average rating5.58
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Squad number38Player nameMvogo
Average rating5.58
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Squad number11Player nameGakpo
Average rating5.53
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Squad number7Player nameZahavi
Average rating5.52
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Squad number23Player nameVeerman
Average rating5.42
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Squad number5Player nameRamalho
Average rating5.21
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Squad number31Player nameMax
Average rating5.08
Line-ups
Leicester
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Schmeichel
- 21Ricardo PereiraSubstituted forJustinat 67′minutes
- 3Fofana
- 6Evans
- 27Castagne
- 10Maddison
- 8Tielemans
- 22Dewsbury-Hall
- 11AlbrightonBooked at 81minsSubstituted forDakaat 81′minutes
- 14IheanachoSubstituted forLookmanat 67′minutes
- 7Barnes
Substitutes
- 2Justin
- 18Amartey
- 20Choudhury
- 23Vestergaard
- 29Daka
- 33Thomas
- 35Jakupovic
- 37Lookman
- 54Marçal-Madivadua
- 74Braybrooke
PSV Eindhoven
Formation 4-3-3
- 38Mvogo
- 17Mauro JúniorSubstituted forTezeat 90+2′minutes
- 5Ramalho
- 18Boscagli
- 31Max
- 6Sangaré
- 27Götze
- 23Veerman
- 10MaduekeSubstituted forTué Na Bangnaat 82′minutes
- 7ZahaviSubstituted forDoanat 69′minutes
- 11GakpoSubstituted forvan Ginkelat 90+1′minutes
Substitutes
- 3Teze
- 8van Ginkel
- 9Alves Morais
- 16Drommel
- 19Tué Na Bangna
- 20Romero
- 21Delanghe
- 25Doan
- 32Vertessen
- 37Ledezma
- Referee:
- Ivan Kruzliak
Match Stats
Live Text
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Match ends, Leicester City 0, PSV Eindhoven 0.
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Second Half ends, Leicester City 0, PSV Eindhoven 0.
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Foul by Jonny Evans (Leicester City).
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Ritsu Doan (PSV Eindhoven) wins a free kick on the right wing.
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Substitution, PSV Eindhoven. Jordan Teze replaces Mauro Júnior.
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Substitution, PSV Eindhoven. Marco van Ginkel replaces Cody Gakpo.
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Corner, Leicester City. Conceded by Olivier Boscagli.
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Youri Tielemans (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Cody Gakpo (PSV Eindhoven).
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Substitution, PSV Eindhoven. Bruma replaces Noni Madueke.
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Substitution, Leicester City. Patson Daka replaces Marc Albrighton.
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Marc Albrighton (Leicester City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Foul by Marc Albrighton (Leicester City).
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Ritsu Doan (PSV Eindhoven) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Wesley Fofana (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Cody Gakpo (PSV Eindhoven).
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Ademola Lookman (Leicester City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Olivier Boscagli (PSV Eindhoven).
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Corner, PSV Eindhoven. Conceded by Marc Albrighton.
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Foul by James Justin (Leicester City).