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- Brest 1-0 PSV: Champions League debutants back on track in bid for top eight
Brest 1-0 PSV: Champions League debutants back on track in bid for top eight
Julien Le Cardinal's first Brest goal saw off PSV and put the Ligue 1 side in a great position to make the Champions League last 16.
Brest returned to winning ways with a 1-0 home success over PSV and continued their remarkable debut European campaign in the Champions League.
Playing continental football for the first time, the Ligue 1 side, forced to play home games in Guingamp, have enjoyed a sensational campaign, although they were beaten by Barcelona last time out.
That setback was quickly forgotten on Tuesday as Julien Le Cardinal's goal and a series of crucial saves from Marco Bizot took Brest up to fifth with two games to play in the league phase.
The decisive goal came two minutes before half-time when a header from Mame Balde deflected off a defender and landed perfectly for Le Cardinal to tap in his first Brest goal.
Brest were already indebted to Dutchman Bizot for a string of impressive saves to keep his compatriots at bay, and they could find no way through in a high-intensity second half either, with Ismael Saibari hitting the post.
PSV keeper Walter Benitez kept his side in the game, but the end to a four-game unbeaten run leaves their knockout hopes in the balance.
Data debrief: Brest indebted to Dutchman Bizot
Brest have now won four of their first six Champions League matches, but this could have gone the same way as their sole defeat to Barca had Bizot not been in top form.
His five saves earned a clean sheet, with PSV failing to find the net in the Champions League for the first time since losing 4-0 at Arsenal on matchday one last season.
The Dutch side drew a blank despite 18 attempts, their most without scoring in a Champions League match since an astonishing 24 shots against Atletico Madrid in 2008.