Feyenoord lose to a late goal in Austria
Feyenoord conceded a painful late goal against Sturm Graz in the Europa League on Thursday, losing the match 1-0. The loss is a big dent in the Rotterdammer's chances of progressing to the next stage of the Europa League. Otar Kiteishvili scored the solitary goal of the match.
Before the match, there was an exciting situation in group F as every team had five points. The first match between these two sides finished was a trashing by Feyenoord as they beat the side from Austria 6-0 in De Kuip in Rotterdam. The Conference League finalists were trying to recover after a poor result last weekend in de Eredivisie against Fortuna Sittard.
Feyenoord was dominant in the first half and had the two most significant chances of the half, both coming from crosses. Gerhard Trauner forced an acrobatic save from Jorg Siebenhandl after a pre-planned corner sequence.
The most significant chance of the half was Danilo’s. A great cross from Javairo Dilrosun found the Brazilian just outside the six-yard box, but his header was a weak attempt straight at Siebenhandl.
Sturm Graz started to dominate in the second half, as Arne Slot’s substitutions only served to improve the Austrian’s grip on the match. The Austrians were especially dangerous from crosses, with David Affengruber getting their most significant chances. The defender showed his frustration with himself after his header went wide.
Sturm Graz continued to gain control and reaped their rewards with a very late winner from Otar Kiteishvili. After a free kick was headed on, the captain took the ball on his chest before volleying home in the 93rd minute.
It was a disastrous goal to concede for Feyenoord, who will now have to beat the leaders of the group Lazio in Rotterdam to stand any chance of going through. Lazio defeated FC Midtjylland 2-1 in the other fixture in this group.
