Feyenoord won the opening match of the group stage of the Champions League. In De Kuip, coach Arne Slot’s team was too strong for Celtic 2-0. Rotterdam’s goal production was provided by Calvin Stengs and substitute Alireza Jahanbakhsh, while Igor Paixão missed a penalty. Due to red cards for Gustaf Lagerbielke and Odin Thiago Holm, the Scots ended the game with nine men. The major blemish on the victory was the withdrawal of Luka Ivanusec, who was carried off the field on a stretcher with his hands in front of his face.
Timon Wellenreuther defended the Rotterdam goal. The closing post saw Lutsharel Geertruida, Gernot Trauner, Dávid Hancko and Quilindschy Hartman in front of them. Quinten Timber and Mats Wieffer acted as controllers in midfield, while Stengs was at 10. The vanguard consisted of Igor Paixão and Ivanusec, who served from the flanks for the replacement of the suspended Santiago Giménez: Yankuba Minteh.
GOOOOOOAAAL FEYENOORD! ?? Calvin Stengs shoots the free kick past Joe Hart: 1-0! ??#ZiggoSport #UCL #FEYCEL pic.twitter.com/GuJli96oTT
— Ziggo Sport Voetbal (@ZS_Voetbal) September 19, 2023
The opening phase was clearly awkward for Feyenoord, which suffered frequent and unnecessary loss of ball through Wieffer, Hancko and Trauner, among others. The first goal attempt was scored in the fifteenth minute of play by Reo Hatate, who took advantage of Timber’s loss of ball and produced a roller straight at Wellenreuther from outside the penalty area. Just fifteen minutes later, Feyenoord’s first goal attempt followed. Minteh cut in from the right and hoped to curl the ball into the far corner with his left, but his attempt went wide.
Minteh came a little closer to the opening goal in the 33rd minute. Although this time he did get the ball between the posts with a shot from approximately 25 meters away, goalkeeper Joe Hart now managed to save the ball. A few minutes later Wellenreuther got into trouble on the other side. Daizen Maeda had a shooting opportunity after a lightning-fast counter, but Feyenoord’s goalkeeper made an excellent save.
Just before the half-time signal, Feyenoord hoped through pinpricks from Hartman (shot wide), Wieffer (header over) and Paixão (shot over); However, the trio lacked sharpness in finishing. However, the opening goal was still found in injury time in the first half. Stengs was allowed to take a free kick from the edge of the box, which he shot past the wall and surprised Hart, probably because of the wet grass: 1-0.
In the second act, Feyenoord quickly came to a head, as Lagerbielke held Paixão and received his second yellow card from referee Irfan Peljto. The Brazilian went behind the ball himself, but he shot weakly and saw Hart make the save. Two minutes later, Celtic even found themselves with nine men after a straight-leg tackle by Holm on Wieffer: immediate red. Then Geertruida thought he could double the score; However, his goal was disallowed for offside.
Jahanbakhsh’s goal did stand fifteen minutes before the end. A cross from substitute Ondrej Lingr was not processed well enough by Alistair Johnston, causing Jahanbakhsh to get the ball at his feet and hit the ball hard: 2-0. In the final phase, Lingr also hoped to put his name on the scoreboard, but his goal was also disallowed for offside.