Feyenoord win bizarre match with two own goals and two penalties against Girona
Feyenoord got their first win in the UEFA Champions League in a bizarre match against Girona in Spain. Two of the Rotterdammer's goals were scored by Girona players, with the other being converted by Antoni Milambo, resulting in a 2-3 win. Both sides missed a penalty during the match.
Manager Brian Priske gave Spanish defender Hugo Bueno a starting spot for the match. Bueno has fully recovered from a muscle injury.
Tim Beelen, whose mistake last weekend resulted in opponent NEC scoring in a 1-1 draw, made another error early in the match, but Timon Wellenreuther saved Viktor Tsygankov's attempt on this occasion.
Girona took the lead in the 20th minute. A corner landed at the feet of defender David Lopez, who forced it home from close range to get Girona's first-ever goal in the Champions League.
But the lead did not last long as Feyenoord equalized two minutes later. A great cross from Igor Paixao was headed by Quinten Timber onto Yangel Herrara's body before it went into the goal.
Feyenoord took the lead ten minutes later. Lopez went from hero to zero as his wayward pass was intercepted by Paixao, who played it instantly into Antoni Milambo's path. The young midfielder kept his cool and calmly sent goalkeeper Paolo Gazzaniga the wrong way.
The home side did not learn from their mistake, as another loss of possession at the back gave Feyenoord a huge chance to double their lead. Gazzaniga's pass went to Timber, who was taken down by Ivan Martin in the box for a penalty. Ayase Ueda took the penalty, but his effort was poor, and it was punched away by the goalkeeper.
Another defensive mistake led to the second penalty of the match. Timon Wellenreuther dropped Bryan Gil's cross in the Feyenoord goal and committed a foul on Bojan Miovski while trying to rectify the mistake. However, just like his counterpart, Wellenreuther was able to fix his error by saving the penalty from Miovski.
Two Dutch players combined to score the equalizer for Girona. Arnaut Danjuma got past three Feyenoord players before playing the ball to Donny van de Beek, who converted from close range.
Girona scored another own goal in the 79th minute, giving Feyenoord the lead. A cross from David Hancko was deflected into the goal by Ladislav Krejci to make it 2-3.
Priske's side should have doubled their lead straight from kick-off. Hwang In-Beom played a perfect cross to Jordan Lotomba, but his header was on the ground before it went wide.
The match even finished bizarrely. Girona claimed a penalty with the last kick of the game when the ball hit Julian Carranza's arm. This resulted in a VAR check, and when it was over, referee Urs Schnyder blew the whistle for the end of the match.
Feyenoord has three points from two games in the Champions League, having lost to Bayer Leverkusen last week. They face Benfica in their next match in the European competition. Girona has lost both games.
