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CSKA Moscow survived a late fightback to beat ten-man PSV Eindhoven 3-2 at the Khimki Arena thanks to the goalscoring exploits of Seydou Doumbia.
It was the away side that made the first attack, with Jurgen Locadia almost prodding home Maxime Lestienne’s cross inside the opening five minutes. It wasn’t a sign of things to come, though, as CSKA took the lead almost straight from the restart when Ahmed Musa controlled Zoran Tosic’s cross and fired home.
Doumbia then spurned a chance to double the lead when he blazed an effort over the top from close range, but he made amends just two minutes later when he headed home Mario Fernandes’ cross. The Ivorian striker was at the heart of everything the home side were creating, and he bagged his second goal of the night, and his side’s third, just after the half-hour mark from the penalty spot.
The spot kick was awarded after PSV goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet tripped Tosic in the box, and Doumbia made no mistake, sending Zoet the wrong way. The Russian side could have put the game to bed before the break when they were awarded another penalty for Santiago Arias’ foul on Musa, but Doumbia sent his effort over the top of goal. Zoet was called back into action just minutes into the second half when he made a one-handed stop from Tosic’s strike, and his side should have pulled a goal back just minutes later.
Alan Dzagoev gave the ball away on the edge of his own area, leaving Luciano Narsingh a shooting chance, but CSKA goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev pulled off a reflex save to spare his teammates blushes. However, Phillip Cocu’s side did pull a goal back on the hour mark when Lestienne pounced on Adam Maher’s cross, and the comeback looked on when Lestienne netted his second of the night just eight minutes later when he fired home from another Maher pass.
The fightback was derailed though when Arias was sent off for a second bookable offence with 10 minutes to go, allowing CSKA to see the game out.
