Feyenoord knew that Vitesse would have a tough job. Under the German trainer Thomas Letsch, the Arnhemmers play excellent football in most matches this season. The last defeat in the competition was on November 20, against PSV (2-0) and that was no shame. The defeat before that was one at Tottenham Hotspur (3-2) and the Arnhem team made a big impression there.
In De Kuip, Vitesse also showed that it dares to play football with guts. Inspired by Riechedly Bazoer, who, as an emerging or dribbling central defender, constantly gave his team offensive impulses. The man who plays with number ten on his back had not doubted for a second whether he should appear at the start. Yes, he is in talks with Feyenoord and that contact has not suddenly been cut off.
bazoer
Financially, he is almost certainly no longer feasible for the Rotterdam team this winter, but in five months he can transfer to Arne Slot’s team. Let that also be a trainer who lets his team play the way Bazoer likes it. Attacking, dominant and taking initiative.
Slot was able to determine with his own eyes in the empty and foggy Kuip, which may well be filled with an audience in two weeks, that Bazoer had already organized it well in the back of the first half. With the two very tall seconds, the Dane Jacob Rasmussen and Danilho Doekhi, next to him, the Arnhem wall remained resistant to all Rotterdam attacks for a long time.
Not so dominant
Feyenoord puzzled and combined for the break, but the home team did not get any further than a focused shot by Bryan Linssen. Feyenoord played well, also had a slight predominance, but always didn’t get much further than the sixteen-meter area. The fact that possession was only 54 percent in favor of Feyenoord halfway through, underlined that the Rotterdammers were not nearly as dominant as in other matches.
With Rasmussen, who was close to 0-1 for Vitesse with a header, and a nice action by Openda, which gave Thomas Buitink a free shooting chance, Letsch’s team even got the best opportunities. Gernot Trauner and Lutsharel Geertruida had their hands full with the technically gifted Openda.
geertruida
Geertruida was preferred by Slot in the center to the Argentinian Marcos Senesi, who took place on the bench. The South American would have been one of the players who had corona during the winter break and that explains the caution with which Slot acted during the first game in January.
Geertruida did his job well and Slot knows that the self-trained, still young defender can be placed in the center of the back in the coming years if Senesi is sold at any time.
Miss Bijlow
It was painful for Feyenoord that the very long reliable goalkeeper Justin Bijlow became the first stone in the Rotterdam wall that crumbled halfway through the second half. At a counter from the Arnhem team, of course again via Openda, the quick right back Marcus Pedersen thought he could save, but the Bijlow coming out caused confusion and eventually brought his own defender to the ground. Opende happily tapped in the 0-1.
Feyenoord immediately thought to strike after that, but Guus Til’s goal was rejected because Cyriel Dessers, who had just come in, stood in the path of the shot. In the final phase Til himself had a good chance, but he missed. Even in the six minutes of injury time, the team from Rotterdam was unable to find the net.
Feyenoord coach Slot: Bijlow should not have come out
Orange goalkeeper Justin Bijlow was allowed to count on Feyenoord’s defeat against Vitesse (0-1). “I don’t think he should have come out, because Marcus Pedersen was still running. But he also said that himself,” said trainer Arne Slot about the moment that his keeper missed the ball in the 69th minute after a deep pass to Vitesse attacker Loïs Openda. Openda was then able to slide the ball into the empty goal.
“It was a very decisive moment in the game, but it should have been better with us on the ball. Then we would not have had to end up in that situation”, Slot did not want to put the defeat on Bijlow alone. The trainer thought that his wingers Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Reiss Nelson brought too little. “They played unhappily. You hope for a whim. But it’s also too easy to just point to the wingers.”
Like midfielder Til, the Feyenoord trainer noted that his team is having a hard time this season against teams that play with five defenders, as Vitesse also did. “We are unable to create many opportunities against teams that ‘defend low’. Then we are more dependent on an individual action or a standard situation,” said Slot, who saw Til equalize after the Openda goal. That goal was canceled due to the alleged offside of substitute Cyriel Dessers.
Slot: „I immediately asked the fourth official why the goal was disallowed. He told me that Dessers was offside and also hit the ball. I couldn’t see that he hit the ball. But of course they have special cameras for that.”
Feyenoord hopes to quickly complete the selection with the young Swedish winger Patrik Wålemark and the American midfielder Cole Bassett. The Rotterdammers are also still interested in Vitesse player Riechedly Bazoer. “It is best to ask technical director Frank Arnesen about the exact status around him. The last few days I have been especially busy with the match against Vitesse”, said Slot. “But it’s nice if we get some players. In the second half of the season you could have to deal with more injuries and also suspensions.”
Til: it just wasn’t great today
Til thought that Feyenoord had to blame for the defeat against Vitesse (0-1) on Saturday. “It just wasn’t great today,” said the international. “Although I didn’t think this match really deserved a winner.”
Til did not think that the poor resumption of the Eredivisie could be blamed on the difficult start of this year. Feyenoord canceled a training camp in Spain due to many corona infections. “Everyone has to deal with that, you can’t throw it at that,” Til said. “But it is a false start, for sure. We are now between PSV and Ajax on the one hand and Vitesse on the other. The results of the other clubs are now decisive for us.”
Vitesse still has 3 points less than Feyenoord. PSV and Ajax can increase their lead over the Rotterdam team on Sunday to 7 and 6 points respectively.