Feyenoord knocked out of the UEFA Champions League after loss to Internazionale in Milan
Feyenoord was knocked out of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday by Italian team Internazionale. The Rotterdammers lost 2-1 in Milan, thanks to goals from Marcus Thuram and Hakan Calhanoglu after Jakub Moder had equalized from the spot.
This means that Robin van Persie is still waiting for his first win as Feyenoord manager after three games. The Rotterdammers will now focus all their attention on their league campaign, in which they will hope to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League.
Feyenoord's first-team squad had 15 injuries for the game. This led to a heavily rotated side, with 18-year-old Aymen Sliti given a starting spot. The first game finished 0-2 for Inter, meaning that Robin van Persie’s side had to win by at least two goals.
It was a poor start for the Rotterdammers as Inter made it 3-0 on aggregate within the first ten minutes. Marcus Thuram received the ball wide of the goal before cutting inside and hitting a terrific shot high into the far corner.
Despite the deficit and high number of injuries, Feyenoord were holding their own. Hugo Bueno had a few decent shooting opportunities, but all the efforts were either blocked by a defender or saved by Internazionale keeper Yann Sommer.
It even resulted in the equalizer being scored in the 42nd minute. A clumsy foul by Hakan Calhanoglu on Jakub Moder resulted in the referee awarding Feyenoord a penalty after a VAR review. Moder took and scored the penalty to become the first man to score for Feyenoord under Robin van Persie.
A mistake by Thomas Beelen resulted in Inter being awarded a penalty shortly after halftime. The center-back’s touch was poor, and he failed in his attempt to rectify this with a tackle on Mehdi Taremi. The penalty was taken and scored by Calhanoglu, making up for his error in the first half.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan missed a huge chance to score another for the home team in the Guiseppe Meazza. Thuram had played the Armenian in, but his finish lacked any kind of finesse, leading to it going far over the goal.
Beelen thought he had given away a second penalty in the 69th minute. The referee awarded Internazionale a penalty for a foul on Thuram. But he reversed his decision after a VAR review.
Thuram almost topped off a great performance with another magnificent goal when he dribbled past three Feyenoord players, but he failed with his finish, hitting the crossbar.
Feyenoord will have to collect themselves quickly as they face FC Twente away on Sunday. The Rotterdammers are currently just two points behind Twente with a game in hand.
