Feyenoord recorded a 1-2 victory against RKC on Saturday evening. Coach Arne Slot’s team fought back from a deficit of ten, despite a missed penalty from Santiago Giménez.
A brutal starting RKC surprisingly took the lead in the first half. Denilho Cleonise finished nicely in the short corner after a Waalwijk breakout. Feyenoord fought back to 1-1 after 35 minutes through Quinten Timber. Just before half time, coach Slot’s team received a penalty after a foul on Santiago Giménez.
Shawn Adewoye therefore had to leave with a red card. Giménez thought he could use the penalty with a panenka, but clumsily pushed the ball over the goal. A much better Feyenoord after half-time came to 1-2 through Bart Nieuwkoop after more than an hour of play. That was it in Waalwijk.
Feyenoord recovered from Sunday’s defeat at FC Twente (3-1). The Rotterdam team therefore rises to third place in the Eredivisie, seven points behind leader PSV. Slot’s team will play the Champions League match against Lazio in Rome on Tuesday.
Feyenoord is recovering after a difficult initial phase
Trainer Slot did not have access to the sick Mats Wieffer in Waalwijk, so Ramiz Zerrouki retained his starting place. On the other hand, there was the return to the starting line-up of Luka Ivanusec, who was injured against Celtic (2-0 win) at the end of September and has not started since.
Giménez failed to give Feyenoord the lead twice in the first fifteen minutes. Feyenoord was stronger, but RKC fought back bravely. The home team even took the lead via Cleonise, who was given too much space to score. Feyenoord took control after a difficult opening phase and reached 1-1 through Timber.
The midfielder fired the ball in cleverly from the inside of the post. Just before half time, the Rotterdam team received a penalty after Giménez, who had broken through, was laid down. Adewoye had to be sent off after a VAR intervention. Somewhat laconically, the Mexican chipped the ball over the goal.
Nevertheless, the Waalwijk resistance was broken after the red card. We had to wait for the second goal from the stronger Rotterdammers. Nieuwkoop eventually scored the liberating and winning goal for Feyenoord, from a rebound after a shot by Zerrouki on the post.
The post first appeared on www.nu.nl