Hadj Moussa’s late goal wins Feyenoord first-leg of UCL qualifier against Fenerbahçe

An injury-time goal from Anis Hadj Moussa ensured that Feyenoord beat Fenerbahce in the first leg of the third round of UEFA Champions League qualifying on Wednesday. An own goal from Mert Müldür and then an equalizer from Sofyan Amrabat had put the score at 1-1 before the Algerian winger’s goal. The second leg will be played in Istanbul next Tuesday.

There was a surprise in the Feyenoord team when Sem Steijn was named captain ahead of Quinten Timber, who was the team’s captain last season. "Sem is a leader, and he's doing a great job. He embraces the team culture, gets along well with his teammates, and has a good understanding of our style of play. From that perspective, it's a logical choice," said Van Persie to Ziggo Sport, who declined to comment on why Timber is no longer captain. "I'll explain that at another time. We have a large group of leaders, and Quinten is one of them. I'm very happy about that as well."

Feyenoord’s defense was completely altered compared to last season. The two new signings, Tsuyoshi Watanabe and Anel Ahmedhozic, who only signed on Tuesday, were the center back pairing with Jordan Bos, also a new signing, playing left back, and Jordan Lotomba, who missed most of last season with a broken leg, playing right back.

Van Persie’s side were showing more energy than the Turkish opposition, and it led to the opening goal in the 19th minute. Steijn almost marked his first competitive game for Feyenoord with a goal, but his header was cleared off the line by Fred.

But it did not matter as the Rotterdammers took the lead seconds later. Timber turned brilliantly on the edge of the area to dribble past Fred before his shot was deflected into the goal by the Turkish international Mert Müldür.

Feyenoord’s defense was looking solid, and yet Fenerbahce came close to equalizing before halftime. Archie Brown attempted a pass to Youssef En Neysiri and then followed the deflected ball on after it was blocked by a Feyenoord defender to give himself a chance to score, but Feyenoord keeper Timon Wellenreuther saved the effort with his legs.

The second half was an uneventful game with Jose Mourinho’s side looking like the better team in the early stages. The equalizer seemed to fall out of nowhere in the 86th minute. A cross was poorly cleared by Ahmedhozic to the former Feyenoorder Amrabat, who smashed it into the goal via the underside of the crossbar.

But there was one more twist to the game when Hadj Moussa, who had been bickering with Fenerbahce’s Dutch defender Jayden Oosterwolde throughout the second half, got a dramatic winning goal in the 91st minute to send the crowd in the Kuip into wild celebrations. It was a first assist in Feyenoord colors for Bos, whose cross was headed into the far corner.

Feyenoord will now focus on making a good start to their Eredivisie season on Saturday when they host NAC Breda in Rotterdam before they travel to the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in Istanbul.