Feyenoord beats Panathinaikos 3-1 despite storm Benjamin and sets its sights on PSV

Points had to be scored in De Kuip, Gijs Smal already shouted. But first the weatherman, with UEFA and the local triangle in his wake, had to be packed. Did there come a storm of caliber or not? Could Robin van Persie prepare his team for a game in the afternoon (half past four), late in the evening (nine o’clock) or prepare for Friday morning?

Feyenoord settles with Panathinaikos after Robin van Persie’s warning: ‘We did that better in the future’

All scenarios flew by in the hours before the confrontation with the Greeks. The drowned Greek legion that wandered through the city with the Mobile Unit and police as guards no longer knew where it stood. Ouzo was drunk in the cafes at the Oude Haven in the heart of Rotterdam. The opponent was cynically renamed Panathiwaaikos.

The only reason why the authorities (and not Feyenoord) waited so long to decide whether or not to cancel was the fear that code orange would turn into code red, because then the game would be ruined.

Feyenoord starts brightly in De Kuip

De Kuip eventually filled up without much grumbling and it was not noticeable from the energy of the players that they were less hungry 4.5 hours later than planned. Feyenoord, without Leo Sauer on the left wing but with youth product Aymen Sliti in his place, flew on top. The will was there, but the coordination around the Greeks’ sixteen-meter area was not. Sliti’s crosses flew at the same speed as the wind (toned down to 50 kilometers per hour) past top scorer Ayase Ueda and the oncoming Sem Steijn.

One attack by Panathinaikos, which is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the highly paid Spaniard coach Rafa Benitez, immediately resulted in a goal at the other end. The Pole Karol Swiderski scored from the rebound, after Timon Wellenreuther had escaped a counter goal just before: 0-1.

Feyenoord was not upset by it. Steijn should have scored the equalizer before the break when Luciano Valente sent him home, swinging through the penalty area. It became a rollercoaster in the hands of the goalkeeper.

Feyenoord’s supporters then lit the fuse in injury time of the first half by chasing the entire team after a penalty claimed by the Greeks after another Swiderski fall. In the press stand, Greek radio and TV reporters almost broke the windows and tables in half in anger. But the German referee Harm Osmers saw no point in it, allowed Feyenoord to counter and Sliti’s last cross ended up neatly with Givairo Read, who scored: 1-1.

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It gave the Rotterdam team the moral boost they needed to be able to swing in the top match against PSV on Sunday. The Anis Hadj Moussa, who was hardly decisive before the break, gave the Legion, which literally ignited everything beforehand with a hellish pyro action and thus caused the club to incur a hefty fine, immediately after the break got its money’s worth. With a nice passing movement he put himself in front of the keeper and scored the 2-1.

That was the moment for Van Persie to start saving forces for PSV. At halftime he had already replaced Hwang by the Moroccan midfielder Oussama Targhalline. Sliti and left back Jordan Bos were also allowed to leave, with Sauer and the Japanese Watanabe as replacements.

With a penalty awarded after an alleged handball halfway through the second act, Feyenoord thought they were in the clear, but VAR intervened and found that captain Sverrir Ingason’s arm was close to the body.

Final agreement Feyenoord

In the last minute, Cyle Larin made the third goal for the Rotterdam team with great effort. Leo Sauer then hit the post, but by then the victory was already in the bag.