Feyenoord win the Rotterdam derby; Utrecht’s resurgence under Jans continues

Feyenoord won the Rotterdam derby on Saturday as they beat Excelsior 4-2 in the Van Donge & De Row stadium. Santiago Gimenez ended his poor run of form with a hat trick to help Arne Slot’s side to the win.

The visitors took the lead after just six minutes when Igor Paixao’s perfect cross was met by Gimenez at the back post, who only had to make contact with the ball to get the goal.

Paixao ruined his excellent work ten minutes later by aiding Excelsior in their equalizer. The Brazilian played a risky pass across the midfield straight to Lazaros Lamprou, who then played Irish striker Troy Parrot in. Parrot’s effort wasn’t the best, but it seemed to catch Feyenoord goalkeeper Justin Bijlow by surprise as it crept in.

It stayed 1-1 for a long time before the visitors took the lead in the 61st minute. Yankubah Minteh sprinted past Arthur Zagre before pulling the ball for Gimenez, who smashed it home in front of the traveling Feyenoord supporters.

Slot’s side made it 1-3 in the 66th minute after a well-worked one-two between Calvin Stengs and Quinten Timber, which resulted in Timber doubling their lead. But again, an error by Feyenoord was punished by the home side. A poor clearance was then played straight into Lamprou, who made no mistake one-on-one with Bijlow to set up an exciting finale to the match.

Gimenez finished the game off for Feyenoord after 82 minutes played—the 22-year-old cut inside before his shot was deflected past Excelsior goalkeeper Stijn van Gassel.

Feyenoord will now focus on their hugely important UEFA Champions League match against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday. They are seven points behind leaders PSV in the Eredivisie.

FC Utrecht extended their unbeaten run under manager Ron Jans to seven matches on Sunday as they beat Sparta Rotterdam away.

Utrecht’s newfound confidence under Jans was shown in the first goal after five minutes. Mats Seuntjes finished off a beautiful team attack as the experienced midfielder swept the ball into the far corner.

Sparta’s equalizer two minutes before halftime was also the result of some excellent build-up play. A cross by Said Bakari was chested perfectly into the path of Camiel Neghli by striker Tobias Lauritsen. The winger did not hesitate, smashing a volley straight into the goal.

As beautiful as the first two goals were in the match, the third was as clumsy as it comes. Seuntjes laid the ball back to Oscar Fraulo in the box, whose shot was blocked by his teammate Oscar Lidberg before dropping to Victor Jensen, whose shot was also blocked before Lidberg nodded it home from close range.

The scoreline stayed 1-2, putting Utrecht four points above Vitesse and FC Volendam in a relegation play-off spot. They are equal on points with NEC Nijmegen and RKC Waalwijk.