After taking the lead early on through Santiago Gimenez, Ajax hit back in the first half through another Mexican in Edson Alvarez and then Dusan Tadic.
Feyenoord fought back in the second half though with Sebastian Szymanski levelling the tie with Geertruida then getting the winner in the 84th minute.
This victory will come as no surprise to fans of the Dutch game though as Feyenoord have been rising steadily across the last couple of seasons through revered coach Arne Slot.
Slot inspired his side to third place last season as well as an impressive run to the inaugural final of the UEFA Conference League where they were unlucky not to beat a stern Roma side led by Jose Mourinho.
They had numerous chances in the final to get a result but just could not find the back of the net in what was a superb display.
The spine to that impressive team was dismantled in the summer with the likes of Luis Sinisterra, Marcos Senesi, Bryan Linssen, Tyrell Malacia, Frederick Aursnes and Cyries Dessers all moving onto pastures new.
Feyenoord decided to invest the money they recuperated for these outgoings in a range of unearthed talent with the likes of Danilo, David Hancko, Quinten Timber, Javairo Dilrosun and Oussama Idrissi all joining. Smart business indeed.
This makes it all the more impressive that Slot has taken his side to new heights this season. The tactician puts an emphasis on keeping the pitch as wide as possible in attacking situations while making sure every player is ready to work for the team out of possession.
Slot also likes his midfield players to push as high as possible when attacking and suffocate the opponents backline. This has led to Szymanski and influential captain Orkun Kokcu’s goal outputs drastically increasing.
Although they play a pleasing brand of football, Slot demands his players work for each other and don’t give up in tough situations which is why they have been so difficult to beat this term.
Slot is also a man manager expert as he has brought in out of form players in Idrissi, Dilrosun and Jahanbakhsh and has given them confidence which has led to brilliant on field results.
This emphasis on quick transitions was evident to see in Feyenoord’s recent dismantling of Shakhtar Donetsk in the Europa League. The midfield and front line wreaked havoc as they put seven past the Ukrainian side.
Now in the quarter finals, Slot has his chance to take revenge on last season’s Conference League winners Roma. This could be a cagey affair but Slot will aim to get a positive result at home where the hostile environment at De Kuip could give his side that extra push.
Domestically Feyenoord sit top of the pile, six points clear of Ajax. With a relatively easy run in, slot may just bring that elusive Eredivisie title back to the club since a Dirk Kuyt inspired side won it in 2016/17.
The success Slot has achieved both domestically and continentally has led to rumours that he is being courted by a number of top European clubs. Don’t be surprised to see Slot in the dugout of a Champions League side next season if he successfully brings the title to Feyenoord.
Although it will be difficult to achieve, Slot and Feyenoord are still on for a treble this season with league, cup and the Europa league all up for grabs. If he manages to bring home even one or two of these trophies, Slot will live long in the memories of the Feyenoord faithful. Only time will tell.
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]]>It may seem a long time ago since West Ham were battling relegation, but little over two years ago, the Irons were fighting for their Premier League lives. Now, the East London outfit enter their second consecutive season of European football coming off the back of an epic run to the Semi-Final of the UEFA Europa League.
However, after losing out on a return to Europe’s secondary competition on the final day to Manchester United, this will be the clubs first foray into the embryonic UEFA Europa Conference League.
West Ham suffered an early setback in their Premier League season after losing their opening three games to Manchester City, Nottingham Forest and Brighton & Hove Albion, all without scoring a goal.
However, improved performances earned the Hammers results against Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur before an unfortunate defeat to Chelsea in controversial fashion.
After a comfortable play-off round win in the Conference League over Danish minnows Viborg, the Irons have been placed in Group B along with Anderlecht (Belgium), Silkeborg (Denmark) and their first opponents, FCSB of Romania.
Few clubs have such a controversial history than FCSB, nicknamed ‘Roș-albaștrii’ (The Red and Blues). The club in its literal form derives from CSA Steaua Bucuresti, formed in 1947 as a Romanian armed forces team.
After some early success in the 1950’s, Steaua were outperformed by arch city rivals Dinamo Bucuresti.
However, the club were able to wrestle the grip of the Romanian domestic scene away from their rivals and even went on to famously win the European Cup by beating Barcelona with the legendary Gheorghe Hagi in their ranks.
After removing the CSA from their club name, Steaua were taken over by an extremely controversial Romanian businessman, George Becali.
Whilst the clubs success was sustained during Becali’s tenure, the ‘extra-curricular activities’ of their owner marred the name. Becali was involved in multiple instances of homophobia, as well as xenophobia and violence also appearing on a rather unwanted resume of malevolence.
Eventually, the ministry of National defence sued the club over the use of the Steaua brand, forcing the club to re-invent itself as FCSB.
Officially, FCSB have ownership over the accolades of past Steaua sides, but a Phoenix club in the rebirth of CSA Steaua Bucuresti is said to be the spiritual home of the real club.
Currently residing in Romania Liga 2, a large portion of the Steaua ‘ultras’ have emigrated to CSA Steaua, now playing at the new purpose built Steaua Stadium.
However, FCSB managed to push average crowds in the league back up to around the 10,000 mark, and attracted crowds of 20,000 the last time they reached the Europa League, and even a high of 33,000 at the Arena Nationala in the knockout stage.
FCSB started their domestic campaign with a 1-1 draw with Universitatea Cluj, before suffering a loss in Georgia in Europe succeeded by a damning 2-0 loss to city rivals Rapid Bucuresti.
This resulted in Anton Petrea resigning and being replaced by Nicolae Dica.
After an unbeaten first six games, one win in four games has remarkably put the 42-year-old’s job on a knife edge, with various reports indicating that he may be sacked should he fail to get a result against the Irons at the London Stadium.
The key question surrounding West Ham’s first ever inclusion in the Europa Conference League is how seriously Moyes will take it and how that will be reflected by the starting lineups.
After a somewhat altered team against Viborg at the London Stadium, Moyes opted to go strong and secure qualification to the Group Stage. However, with six games to progress to the next round, one would suspect more changes will be made in the next six European outings.
Already, Moyes has hinted at a potential first start for summer signing Flynn Downes, who arrived from Swansea City for a fee in the region of £10m.
Nayef Aguerd and Ben Johnson are ruled out of featuring, whilst Aaron Cresswell, Craig Dawson and Gianluca Scamacca are all doubtful.
Hammers fans will be well aware of the threat these types of game pose, as the Irons had their European campaigns cut short in two consecutive season at the hands of Romanian side Astra Giurgiu.
Defeat would leave Moyes’ outfit with work to do headed into back to back away games in Europe against Silkeborg and Anderlecht. Victory would be their ninth win in their last 15 European outings.
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After an impressive start, the Foxes were hit with a sucker punch as Lorenzo Pellegrini converted past Kasper Schmeichel after just 15 minutes to give Jose Mourinho’s side the lead.
It took Brendan Rodgers’ men time to regroup and react to going behind but once they re-found their stride, the hosts were excellent, with winger Ademola Lookman at the heart of most flurries forward.
The winger has found his best form in a Leicester shirt towards the end of his loan spell from RB Leipzig which will certainly be a frustration for Rodgers and the Foxes faithful. However, pushing for a permanent move now seems obvious.
It took the 24-year-old until the end of November to net his first league goal having scored in EFL Cup victories over Millwall and Brighton.
Five months on and the Nigerian has scored another five goals in the top-flight, with two of those coming in the last four matches.
Moreover, it seemed set that Lookman would be awarded credit for Leicester’s second-half equaliser as substitute Harvey Barnes produced a wicked cut-back that found its way into the back of the net via his fellow forward.
However, post-match replays showed that the final touch came off of Roma defender Gianluca Mancini and thus the Italian was credited with an own goal.
Nonetheless, Lookman’s trickery and pace down both flanks was a marvel and cause Mourinho’s side real problems at the back as they looked to preserve their precious lead ahead of next Thursday’s decisive leg in the Italian capital.
But, with just six league matches and potentially two more in the Conference League, the Foxes’ season is rapidly approaching its conclusion and a decision on the Leipzig loanee’s future will have to be made.
From Leicester’s point of view, it should be simple – they will want the Nigerian beyond this season. It will come down to whether or not Leipzig will allow that to happen.
Despite being 24, Lookman’s career thus far has been anything but straightforward and regular football on a permanent contract is exactly what the winger needs at this stage of his career.
Having made the move to Everton as a 19-year-old starlet after going through the ranks at Charlton Athletic, the forward was shipped off to Germany a year later to join Leipzig on loan for the second half of the 2017/18 season before rejoining the Bundesliga side on a permanent basis of the 2019/20 campaign.
However, it hasn’t really worked out for the Nigerian since, spending last season on loan at Fulham before joining Leicester.
On the whole, the 24-year-old has impressed in the royal blue of Leicester with Thursday night’s showing, in a European semi-final, mind, particularly impressive. A permanent move should definitely be on the cards.
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]]>Despite dropping out of the Europa League at the group stage, Brendan Rodgers’ men have had their work cut out for them in the inaugural campaign of UEFA’s third tier European competition.
Danish side Randers proved no immediate threat in the play-off round with the Foxes winning comfortably 7-2 on aggregate. However, the tasks of overcoming both Stade Rennais and PSV Eindhoven were certainly tall.
The French outfit have recently become a regular in continental competition, with appearances in both the Champions League and Europa League whilst the Dutch giants boast serious European pedigree.
Impressively, Leicester overcame those challenges and now look to get past a Roma side managed by a figure very familiar to English fans in Jose Mourinho.
The former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham boss took charge in the Italian capital last summer and has his side fifth in Serie A, whilst also targeting European success in the Conference League.
Another face that English supporters will recognise is that of Tammy Abraham who swapped England for Italy with regular game time at Chelsea not guaranteed.
What had previously been a rarity is now becoming more and more common as English players, particularly bright prospects, are opting to make the move abroad.
Jadon Sancho, Fikayo Tomori and, although the older, Kieran Trippier are some of the higher-profile Englishmen that have sought game time outside of their home nation and succeeded.
Abraham is also in that category, with the 24-year-old netting 24 goals in 46 appearances thus far in what has been a productive start to life in Italy.
Granted, playing the home leg first for the fourth time won’t necessarily please the Foxes, although the recent scrapping of the away goals rule may hinder the strength of that argument slightly.
What Rodgers’ men can take confidence from is the fact that they’ve conceded just one goal in the home legs of their European knockout matches this term, with clean sheets against both Rennes and PSV.
Having the two-goal advantage against Rennes certainly helped as the French side won the second leg 2-1 whilst a late rally of character, determination and quality saw Leicester turn a one-goal disadvantage into a 2-1 lead in Eindhoven after a goalless draw at the King Power.
That stalemate undoubtedly should’ve seen the Foxes find the back of the net, with their clinical edge limited that evening. The reaction to going behind in Holland was something that has certainly been lacking too often in the Premier League this season.
However, undoubtedly Roma provides the toughest test with the quality of their squad arguably better than any of the sides Leicester faced in the Europa League, let alone the Conference League.
As well as Abraham, Leicester fans will remember Roma goalkeeper Rui Patricio for his time at Wolves with the Portuguese man returning to the Midlands on Thursday.
The former Arsenal and Manchester United player Henrikh Mkhitaryan will surely ring bells too as will English defenders Chris Smalling and Ainsley Maitland-Niles, more natives who have crossed the Channel for football elsewhere with the latter on loan from Arsenal.
Attacking midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini has been exciting this campaign as has 22-year-old winger Nicolo Zaniolo, whilst young defender Marash Kumbulla has been a regular fixture in Mourinho’s side.
Taking a lead to Rome next week isn’t essential, as shown in Eindhoven, however, it would make Leicester’s job a whole lot easier with the Conference League undoubtedly the Foxes’ priority for the rest of the campaign.
European qualification via the league is virtually impossible now whilst triumph in Tirana would see Rodgers’ men start the season in the Europa League from the group stage for the third season in a row.
Therefore, Thursday night’s clash is arguably the biggest at the King Power since the Northern Irishman took over.
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Although the scoreline suggests a dull affair in the East Midlands, it was anything but with both teams competitive in what was an end-to-end contest.
It was just that final touch of quality in the final third that was missing for both sides.
Brendan Rodgers will certainly have to be wary of the threat that PSV have on offer, particularly in the final third with the likes of Noni Madueke, Cody Gakpo and Mario Götze all showing plenty of quality in Leicestershire.
In fact, if anyone in a red and white shirt looked like they were going to architect a breakthrough for the visitors, it was Madueke, the 20-year-old English sensation.
The former Tottenham youngster made the move to Holland in 2018, having made the move from South London to North London in 2014 when swapping Crystal Palace for Spurs.
Having impressed for the Eindhoven-based outfit’s youth sides, the 20-year-old made his first-team debut in January 2020 and his stock has continued to rise ever since.
Two years on and the winger has scored 18 goals and registered 13 assists in 66 appearances for PSV as well as now being integrated into the England U21 side by Lee Carsley.
Naturally, when an English talent rises from the ashes, speculation over a possible big move naturally develops. Madueke’s case has been no different.
In fact, it was Thursday’s opponent Leicester who were linked with a move for the young Englishman last summer, and they’re expected to swoop again in the upcoming transfer window.
If the two legs of this quarter-final are to be an audition ahead of a potential move in the summer, then the 20-year-old certainly made a good start at the King Power.
The winger demonstrated plenty of pace, skill, agility and directness, an abundance of traits desired in a wide man.
Rodgers could well be short of options on the flanks come summer too with Ademola Lookman’s loan spell from RB Leipzig concluding whilst Marc Albrighton is now 32 and Ayoze Perez has been limited to just eight Premier League appearances this term.
There’s still plenty to play for heading into the Foxes’ trip to the southern Dutch city next Thursday. Although, against a PSV side with a rich European pedigree and just eight defeats across all competitions this season, progression in the Europa Conference League will be a tall task.
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]]>The Englishman scored Leicester’s first against the French side on Thursday evening before assisting what could be a crucial second goal from substitute Kelechi Iheanacho.
After a strong opening 20 minutes from the visitors, Rodgers’ men rallied and grew into the game before Harvey Barnes’ cutback was met with a thumping strike from Albrighton that pummelled the roof of the net on the half-hour mark.
A second-half of little action suggested that the Foxes would be taking a one-goal lead to northwest France next week as they look to win the inaugural Conference League title, however, Mr. Reliable was at it again.
Following some half-hearted defending from Bruno Genesio’s side, the winger was found on the right-flank in acres of space to then cut back to substitute striker Iheanacho who made no mistake with the finish. A massive goal that could prove to be the difference in this tie.
Marc Albrighton goals are a rarity, with the 32-year-old’s only other two strikes this campaign coming in the league against Norwich City and FA Cup against Watford, with the Englishman netting a total of 18 in 277 appearances since making the switch across the Midlands from Aston Villa in 2014.
However, this isn’t the first time the Tamworth-born winger has been the star man in Europe for the Foxes.
Rewind back to 2016 when City were fresh from their miraculous Premier League title win and in the Champions League, the first test of the group stage was a trip to Belgian outfit Club Brugge.
Despite being newbies in Europe the fresh-faced Foxes ran out comfortable 3-0 winners, with Albrighton bagging the club’s first-ever Champions League goal in Belgium whilst also registering an assist in the home game against Brugge as the East Midlands outfit reached the quarter-finals.
The Englishman also scored another goal during that campaign as Leicester overcame a 2-1 deficit against Sevilla to beat the Spaniards 2-0 in the second leg of their round of 16 tie, with Albrighton netting the decisive goal at the King Power Stadium.
It took the Foxes over three years to experience European football again as their fifth-placed finish in 2019/20 secured Europa League football, despite being frustratingly close to finishing in the top-four.
Last season’s campaign in Europe wasn’t as prolific for Albrighton, although one of his seven assists in all competitions came away at Portuguese side Braga.
Having played just 37 minutes in the Europa League this term before Rodgers’ side were relegated to the newly-formed Conference League, the Englishman has already played 240 minutes in the third tier of European football and could prove to be a vital asset.
Leicester are currently the bookies’ favourites to be crowned the first-ever winners of the Europa Conference League and are in an excellent position to reach the quarter-finals after a disciplined display against Rennes on Thursday night.
Despite being favourites though, should the Foxes progress there are still some European heavyweights knocking around in the competition with Roma, PSV and Marseille all involved.
He may not be the most skilful or pacey wide man, but Marc Albrighton can certainly be a key player for Brendan Rodgers for the remainder of the campaign, with the Conference League appearing to be the most likely way of saving what has so far been a severely underwhelming season.
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