Feyenoord did not get further than a 1-1 draw against AS Roma on Thursday evening. Trainer Arne Slot had to make do with a considerably thinned selection and that turned out not to be enough to get the Romans over the top. Football zone rates all basic players with a grade.

Timon Wellenreuther 7.5
In the absence of Justin Bijlow, Wellenreuther faced his third European match of the season. Earlier this season, the German already played against Atlético Madrid and Celtic in the Champions League. The man with the goodwill in De Kuip once again proved himself to be a worthy replacement and made a number of great saves in the first half. For example, he prevented Lorenzo Pellegrini from scoring and cleverly tapped Leandro Paredes' shot onto the crossbar. He also read the game well when Roma threatened to become dangerous. The goal against was not his fault.

Bart Nieuwkoop 6
While Nieuwkoop was often positioned as a right winger by coach Arne Slot in recent weeks, he was allowed to 'simply' play as a right back against Roma. Lutsharel Geertruida was missing and so Nieuwkoop was his logical replacement. The defender, born in Bergen op Zoom, did few crazy things and made an eager impression. He had to watch most of the attacks go down the left flank via Quilindschy Hartman.

Thomas Beelen 6.5
Feyenoord seems to have acquired a boy for the future with Thomas Beelen. The youngster, who had the rewarding task of stopping Romelu Lukaku, made his Europa League debut and did so duly. It became clear after fifteen minutes that Beelen was up against a world-class striker, when he had to pull the emergency brake. It earned him a yellow card. Not much later he briefly lost Lukaku, but it was Wellenreuther who was able to save. Just before half time, Beelen himself intervened when Nicola Zalewski threatened to become dangerous. He looked mature with the ball.

David Hanko 7
The man who wore the captain's armband in Gernot Trauner's absence once again made a solid impression. Most of Feyenoord's attacks started with the Slovak captain (109 passes, of which 103 were accurate, by far the most of all Feyenoord players). Hancko acted as a mentor to the much younger Beelen. The coordination with his partner could have been a little better here and there, as Lukaku was twice given all the time and space in the enemy sixteen. The Romans' equalizer, a header from the same Lukaku, was something the Slovakian took personally.

Quilindschy Hartman 6.5
Hartman was the most dangerous defender on Feyenoord's side from an attacking point of view. However, this quickly led to a dangerous situation in the match, when he gambled and went under the ball. Ultimately the danger could be nipped in the bud. The left wing defender's performance could further be described as 'solid'.

Mats Wieffer 7
Like almost every match, Wieffer was the first point of contact for Feyenoord's defense. It was visible that the midfielder is clearly less in his power when he has Ramiz Zerrouki next to him. With Quinten Timber next to him, Wieffer can focus even better on his own strengths. In attack, Wieffer tried to contribute with shots from distance, but these ended up wide or were blocked.

Ramiz Zerrouki 5.5
Zerrouki was expected to provide supply to players like Stengs and the winger. However, the midfielder only managed to win 33.3% of his duels and barely stood out. When in possession he achieved the figures that befit a midfielder. Zerrouki achieved a passing accuracy of 92.2 percent (51 of 47 passes successful).

Calvin Stengs 6.5
With Wieffer and Zerrouki in control, creativity had to come from Calvin Stengs. The attacking midfielder and winger put a lot of energy into the match, running both up front and at the back, but was not always happy with the final pass. Twenty minutes before the end he was shown a yellow card, after which Slot brought him off for Luka Ivanusec not much later.

Yankuba Minteh 5.5
Minteh is often said to be aggressive and wild, which was often the case against AS Roma. He tried, but barely passed his direct opponent. He also barely managed to make use of his greatest weapon, his speed. Defensively he was good and the coordination with Nieuwkoop was hardly noticeable. After an hour of play, Minteh was taken aside by Slot.

Ayase Ueda 4
The match against AS Roma was the perfect opportunity for Ayase Ueda to show himself to Slot and the Legion. Santiago Gimenez was not considered fit enough and so the Japanese was given confidence. However, this was not repaid for a moment. Ueda did not become dangerous and only featured in physical duels in the game. It was also clear that Slot was not satisfied with the striker's way of applying pressure. Gesturing busily to the side, he tried to reach his pupil, but succeeded with difficulty. His counter is currently stuck at zero European goals in the Feyenoord shirt.

Igor Paixao 7
Of the three attackers, Paixão was by far the most threatening. The Brazilian already had a good opportunity to open the score halfway through the first half, but saw his effort go just wide after a beautiful solo through Roma's sixteen. Five minutes later he was unable to give strength to an attempt from close range on a pass from Nieuwkoop. On the stroke of half-time, he exploded De Kuip with a clever header. Paixão thus proved that you don't have to be the tallest on the field to score a headed goal.

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