Feyenoord started the resumption of the Eredivisie on Saturday with a defeat. Arne Slot’s team turned out to be no match for Vitesse in De Kuip, which only needed a goal from Lois Openda: 0-1. That was the result of an error of judgment by Justin Bijlow, who thought he could intercept a long ball. Number three Feyenoord sees pursuer Vitesse approaching three points. Leaders PSV and Ajax can walk away from the Rotterdam team on Sunday.
At Feyenoord, Reiss Nelson took the left winger position from the injured Luis Sinisterra. It was striking that Marcos Senesi and Jens Toornstra started on the bench, while Lutsharel Geertruida and Alireza Jahanbakhsh started. The acquisitions Patrik Walemark and Cole Bassett were not yet there. It was a special match for Riechedly Bazoer, after the Vitesse defender saw a transfer to Feyenoord ricochet in January. The Arnhem team also started with Adrian Grbic, who was recruited this week, in the base.
???????????? ???? ???? ????????! Lois Openda takes advantage of Justin Bijlow’s mistake: 0-1.#FEYVIT ?? ESPN pic.twitter.com/BL7oqj9MqM
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) January 15, 2022
A tactical joust unfolded in the first half, in which neither team had a hundred percent chance. Vitesse came closest via Thomas Buitink, who happened to find the ball at sixteen meters in front of the feet and shot just wide. Feyenoord saw Bryan Linssen and Reiss Nelson shoot at goalkeeper Jeroen Houwen. Alireza Jahanbakhsh broke through on the right side and should have given Guus Til a punch, but the pass was bad.
Even after the break, the chances turned out to be sparse. Loïs Openda tried to surprise with a bow header, but Bijlow didn’t let the ball pass. Twenty minutes before the end, the Feyenoord goalkeeper made a much less good assessment when he wanted to remove a deep ball from Openda. Bijlow got in the way of teammate Marcus Pedersen and saw the ball roll in front of Openda, who found the empty goal: 0-1.
Feyenoord went on the hunt for the equalizer and seemed to succeed four minutes later. Guus Til tapped in from the rebound after a deflected shot by Jahanbakhsh, but substitute Cyriel Dessers turned out to have been offside during the VAR analysis. Til then headed dangerously wide, while Dessers fired at Toni Domgjoni in the box. Feyenoord looked for full attack in the final phase, but a real chance did not follow.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PSV | 18 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 22 | 43 |
| 2 | Ajax | 18 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 52 | 42 |
| 3 | Feyenoord | 19 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 24 | 39 |
| 4 | Vitesse | 19 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 36 |
| 5 | FC Twente | 19 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 35 |
| 6 | AZ | 18 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 32 |
| 7 | FC Utrecht | 18 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 29 |
| 8 | SC Cambuur | 18 | 9 | 1 | 8 | -7 | 28 |
| 9 | NEC | 19 | 7 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 26 |
| 10 | sc Heerenveen | 19 | 7 | 4 | 8 | -7 | 25 |
| 11 | Go Ahead Eagles | 18 | 6 | 3 | 9 | -10 | 21 |
| 12 | Fc Groningen | 18 | 4 | 7 | 7 | -7 | 19 |
| 13 | Heracles Almelo | 19 | 5 | 4 | 10 | -5 | 19 |
| 14 | William II | 19 | 5 | 3 | 11 | -20 | 18 |
| 15 | RKC Waalwijk | 18 | 3 | 7 | 8 | -11 | 16 |
| 16 | Sparta Rotterdam | 18 | 2 | 7 | 9 | -12 | 13 |
| 17 | Fortuna Sittard | 18 | 3 | 4 | 11 | -27 | 13 |
| 18 | PEC Zwolle | 19 | 2 | 3 | 14 | -21 | 9 |