Feyenoord is almost certain of wintering in the Conference League. Arne Slot’s team recorded a hard-fought 1-2 victory over Union Berlin on Thursday evening, thanks to goals from Luis Sinisterra and Cyriel Dessers. The winning goal came from the slip of keeper Andreas Luthe. Union received two red cards late in the game, but was still threatening even in the final minutes with nine men. Feyenoord leads Group E with ten points; Slavia Prague won 1-0 against Maccabi Haifa and is second. The club from Israel is in third place with four points.
The first big chance for Union was on a soaking wet field in the Olympiastadion, home of fellow townsman Hertha BSC. Sheraldo Becker didn’t get enough resistance from Marcos Senesi and stormed over to Justin Bijlow, who made the save. At that moment, in the sixth minute, the smoke from the fireworks had just cleared from the branch. After fourteen minutes, Sinisterra sought out the 5,200 supporters who had traveled with them, after Feyenoord had taken the lead. In a well-played attack, Bryan Linssen shot from the turn against the inside of the post, allowing Sinisterra to finish from close range: 0-1.
Feyenoord did not run into serious problems in the subsequent phase. Bijlow had no trouble with a long shot from Genki Haraguchi; Levin Öztunali fired far over. In the final phase of the build-up, Feyenoord also failed several times, so that the visitors got no further than a header from Gernot Trauner before half-time. Due to Union’s lead and lack of decisiveness, there seemed little cause for concern, but the home team reported increasingly often around the Feyenoord penalty area and scored in minute 41 anyway. Christopher Trimmel cleverly turned the ball past Bijlow from a distance: 1-1.
In the end, the halftime signal provided more relief to Feyenoord than to Union, which started strongly in the final phase of the first half. After the break, the home side continued to look for the lead. Shots from Haraguchi and Kevin Behrens came straight at Bijlow, after which Feyenoord suddenly had a huge opportunity. Left back Tymoteusz Puchacz suddenly handed the ball in to Bryan Linssen, who encountered keeper Luthe from a position similar to the one in which he scored against Union in De Kuip. It was one of Feyenoord’s few feats of arms, which was often pushed back into their own half.
In the last quarter of the game, however, Feyenoord regained the strength to put Union to the test. A bet by Jens Toornstra sailed just past the front, but eighteen minutes before time the team from Rotterdam took the lead. A minute after Marcos Senesi prevented a great opportunity for Taiwo Awoniyi with a flawless tackle, goalkeeper Luthe suddenly slipped on the wet tuber field, giving substitute Dessers an unmissable opportunity: 1-2. Trauner and Marcus Pedersen were close to 1-3, but there were also perilous moments for Feyenoord in the back. That remained the case even after two red cards for Union in the final phase: Trimmel received his second yellow for throwing the ball away, after which Cedric Teuchert kicked after Tyrell Malacia. Feyenoord eventually held out and is therefore almost certain of wintering in Europe.