PSV Eindhoven’s Champions League campaign is already becoming a concern after their 1-0 defeat to RB Leipzig left Peter Bosz’s side with just one point from their opening two matches.

Former PSV striker and ESPN analyst Danny Koevermans believes the Dutch champions missed an important opportunity to collect points in Germany, warning that their demanding European schedule will make the task increasingly difficult.

PSV had chances to take something from Tuesday’s encounter, but Ivan Perišić’s missed first-half penalty proved costly. Brajan Gruda’s deflected second-half strike ultimately settled the contest in Leipzig’s favour, leaving Bosz’s side with little reward for their efforts.

Speaking on ESPN’s Voetbalpraat, Koevermans felt the match was closely contested for long periods before Leipzig began to assert themselves towards the end.

“It was just equal,” the former striker said when assessing the contest between PSV and the German side.

However, Koevermans sensed a shift in momentum during the final half-hour, believing Leipzig were increasingly likely to find the decisive goal.

“But in the last half hour, Leipzig took control and you could feel it coming that he was going to go down,” he added.

His assessment reflected PSV’s difficulty in maintaining their earlier level of control as the match progressed. Although the visitors created opportunities, they were unable to convert them, while Leipzig eventually made one of their openings count.

Koevermans’ biggest concern is the fixture list awaiting PSV. With only one point secured from their first two Champions League matches, the Eindhoven side have little room for further setbacks if they are to strengthen their position in the competition.

Their upcoming trip to FC Porto represents another difficult assignment, while a visit to Real Madrid in November adds to the challenge facing Bosz and his players.

Koevermans believes the defeat in Leipzig was particularly damaging because it represented an opportunity to collect valuable points against an opponent PSV could compete with.

“When you look at the schedule, this was a match in which you could pick up points. That is getting increasingly difficult now,” he said.

The warning underlines the importance of PSV turning competitive performances into results. Their display in Germany offered encouragement in spells, but missed chances and the inability to maintain control late in the game left them empty-handed.

Despite the disappointing result, goalkeeper Matej Kovář emerged as PSV’s standout performer in the eyes of Koevermans.

The goalkeeper produced several important saves to keep his team in contention, including during periods when Leipzig threatened to take control. Koevermans believed Kovář could have been the man of the match had Gruda’s decisive effort not taken a deflection that prevented him from making the save.

“He played a fantastic match. That ball from Gruda was lightly deflected, which meant he couldn’t get it. Otherwise he would have been man of the match. Tough for him and for PSV as well,” Koevermans said, as quoted by PSV Inside.

Kovář’s performance provided one of the few clear positives for Bosz, but it could not prevent PSV from suffering a defeat that leaves their European campaign under early pressure.

With Porto and Real Madrid among the challenges still to come, PSV must find a way to turn their promising spells into points. As Koevermans warned, opportunities to make up ground could become increasingly difficult to find.