Late goals by US stars are a Champions League thanksgiving for PSV Eindhoven

EINDHOVEN, Netherlands (AP) — PSV Eindhoven was giving thanks to its United States internationals in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Trailing 2-0 in the 87th minute at home to Shakhtar Donetsk, there seemed no way back for the Dutch team in red and white striped jerseys until its American stars stepped up.

Malik Tillman scored direct from a sneaky free kick taken out wide that tricked Shakhtar goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk scrambling to dive at his near post.

Tillman then rifled in a shot from outside the penalty area three minutes later to level the game, and PSV wanted more.

Victory came in the fifth minute of stoppage time, when US forward Ricardo Pepi was alert to a loose ball in the goalmouth to slot it into an unguarded net.

“When we scored the winner it was a madhouse, everyone jumping on each other, our bench erupting, as well as our fans,” PSV’s Ryan Flamingo said.

“For that to happen in a Champions League match is as good as it gets,” the Dutch defender said.

The rapid turnaround lifted PSV six places up the 36-team standings — above Real Madrid, Juventus and Dutch rival Feyenoord — into 18th place, just below Manchester City only on goal difference. The top 24 teams after three more rounds by the end of January advance to the knockout phase.

Still, Tillman was not getting excited about beating the champion of Ukraine.

“We didn’t play to our usual level. We all have to be honest about it,” he said.

PSV gave up two first-half goals and the game turned on a red card shown for a foul in the 69th minute by Shakhtar defender Pedro Henrique.

“I think the red card was justified, although their player didn’t do it on purpose, but I doubt we would have won without it,” PSV coach Peter Bosz acknowledged.

PSV is on the road for the next two rounds, at French newcomer Brest on Dec. 10 and on Jan. 21 at Red Star Belgrade. That is a meeting of the 1991 European Cup winner hosting the 1988 champion.

PSV finishes on Jan. 29 hosting Liverpool, the current leader, the only team with five straight wins.

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PSV's head coach Peter Bosz prior to the Champions League opening phase soccer match between PSV Eindhoven and Shakhtar Donetsk at the PSV Stadium in Eindhoven, Netherlands, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)

PSV players celebrate after winning their Champions League opening phase soccer match between PSV Eindhoven and Shakhtar Donetsk at the PSV Stadium in Eindhoven, Netherlands, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)

PSV's Ricardo Pepi, center, celebrates after scoring his sides third goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between PSV Eindhoven and Shakhtar Donetsk at the PSV Stadium in Eindhoven, Netherlands, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)

Shakhtar's goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk lays in the goal after PSV's Ricardo Pepi scored his sides third goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between PSV Eindhoven and Shakhtar Donetsk at the PSV Stadium in Eindhoven, Netherlands, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)

PSV's Malik Tillman, right, celebrates after scoring his sides first goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between PSV Eindhoven and Shakhtar Donetsk at the PSV Stadium in Eindhoven, Netherlands, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)

DENVER (AP) — Amid renewed interest in the killing of JonBenet Ramsey triggered in part by a new Netflix documentary, police in Boulder, Colorado, refuted assertions this week that there is viable evidence and leads about the 1996 killing of the 6-year-old girl that they are not pursuing.

JonBenet Ramsey, who competed in beauty pageants, was found dead in the basement of her family’s home in the college town of Boulder the day after Christmas in 1996. Her body was found several hours after her mother called 911 to say her daughter was missing and a ransom note had been left behind. The details of the crime and video footage of JonBenet competing in pageants propelled the case into one of the highest-profile mysteries in the United States.

The police comments came as part of their annual update on the investigation, a month before the 28th anniversary of JonBenet’s killing. Police said they released it a little earlier because of the increased attention on the case, apparently referring to the three-part Netflix series “Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenet Ramsey.”

In a video statement, Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn said the department welcomes news coverage and documentaries about the killing of JonBenet, who would have been 34 this year, as a way to generate possible new leads. He said the department is committed to solving the case but needs to be careful about what it shares about the investigation to protect a possible future prosecution.

“What I can tell you though, is we have thoroughly investigated multiple people as suspects throughout the years and we continue to be open-minded about what occurred as we investigate the tips that come into detectives," he said.

The Netflix documentary focuses on the mistakes made by police and the “media circus” surrounding the case.

JonBenet was bludgeoned and strangled. Her death was ruled a homicide, but nobody was ever prosecuted.

Police were widely criticized for mishandling the early investigation into her death amid speculation that her family was responsible. However, a prosecutor cleared her parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, and brother Burke in 2008 based on new DNA evidence from JonBenet's clothing that pointed to the involvement of an “unexplained third party” in her slaying.

The announcement by former district attorney Mary Lacy came two years after Patsy Ramsey died of cancer. Lacy called the Ramseys “victims of this crime.”

John Ramsey has continued to speak out for the case to be solved. In 2022, he supported an online petition asking Colorado’s governor to intervene in the investigation by putting an outside agency in charge of DNA testing in the case. In the Netflix documentary, he said he has been advocating for several items that have not been prepared for DNA testing to be tested and for other items to be retested. He said the results should be put through a genealogy database.

In recent years, investigators have identified suspects in unsolved cases by comparing DNA profiles from crime scenes and to DNA testing results shared online by people researching their family trees.

In 2021, police said in their annual update that DNA hadn’t been ruled out to help solve the case, and in 2022 noted that some evidence could be “consumed” if DNA testing is done on it.

Last year, police said they convened a panel of outside experts to review the investigation to give recommendations and determine if updated technologies or forensic testing might produce new leads. In the latest update, Redfearn said that review had ended but that police continue to work through and evaluate a “lengthy list of recommendations” from the panel.

Amy Beth Hanson contributed to this report from Helena, Montana.

FILE - The gravesite of JonBenet Ramsey is shown covered with numerous flowers, Jan. 8, 1997, at St. James Episcopal Cemetery in Marietta, Ga. (Andy Sharp/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

FILE - A police officer sits in her cruiser, Jan. 3, 1997, outside the home in which 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey was found murdered in Boulder, Colo., on Dec. 26, 1996. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)