Feyenoord coach Arne Slot was not exactly at ease in the run-up to the first official match of the season. He had already lost so many players and it remained unsettled in the transfer market, so there was a good chance that he would lose even more players, even in the hours before Vitesse-Feyenoord started. And that happened promptly. The management of Feyenoord indicated to the coach that he could not draft Marcos Senesie, the Argentine forward, because the club was in extensive negotiations with the English Bournemouth.
With a total of five official debutants, there was therefore almost 50 percent a different team compared to the previous season. In defence, Jacob Rasmussen made his entrance, taking the place of Senesi, in midfield there were Jurriën Timber and the Pole Sebastian Szymanski and in the vanguard Slot Javairo started Dilrosun and Danilo.
Cheese slicer
Now, in recent months, the cheese slicer has also gone over the selection at Vitesse due to the departure of the Russian owner Valery Oyf (and with that the turning off of the money tap). The Arnhem team has lost a lot of quality and so it was not the case that Feyenoord suddenly faced a perilous adventure.
Patrik Walemark has made up for it.
Pro Shots
But after a few minutes, Slot and the Feyenoord supporters were no longer so comfortable on the couch. A bang from Vitesse defender Melle Meulensteen almost sent the ball into the goal of the surprised Justin Bijlow from the center line. The goalkeeper already had a cool moment in the preparation with his combination football via his own post and he could not use this bang from Meulensteen. With an extreme effort Bijlow prevented his team from immediately looking at a backlog.
But fifteen minutes later the ball was still in the net behind the Rotterdammer, when the home team broke out over the left flank and brought Million Manhoef into position at a moment when Rasmussen forgot to cover against his old club: 1-0.
danilo
Strangely enough, Feyenoord had already created a few nice opportunities in the period before that. Danilo was put in front of the goalkeeper but wasted his very first moment to score for his new club. Dilrosun then hit the post after a nice through pass from Timber. Patrik Walemark then fired a short shot at the intersection.
With Timber has immediately been named one of the two best Feyenoord players. The other was Szymanski, who was behind the comeback. The Pole first provided the assist for Walemark’s 1-1 and then provided the free kick from which Danilo was able to give Feyenoord the lead before the break.
Danilo has scored.
ANP/HH
Did it all look very smooth? No, Slot and Feyenoord will still need a while before the Rotterdam machine will run the way the coach wants. During the first half, the team won far too few personal duels. And Rasmussen still has to find his way in defense, given the fact that he also lifted the offside trap on his own after the break for Vitesse’s equalizer. Nikolai Pedersen took advantage of it eagerly: 2-2.
Sensational turnaround
But in the second half came a sensational turnaround. Feyenoord’s supporters were spoiled with Luis Sinisterra because with the Colombian there was a player who could turn a match out of the blue. In that respect, Dilrosun also showed on his first performance that he has surprises in store. Really out of nowhere he curled the 2-3 in the intersection three minutes after Vitesse’s equalizer. Feyenoord’s bank exploded. After the dramatic preparation, this was what the team could use.
Vitesse’s bench was in sackcloth three minutes later, because goalkeeper Jeroen Houwen gifted the 2-4 to the Rotterdam team. His blunder with the ball at the foot, which Danilo took advantage of, was immediately the death blow for his own team. Three minutes later, substitute Oussama Idrissi Lutsharel brought Geertruida into position and it was already 2-5.