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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]]>The Brittany establishment have bought numerous rough diamonds to then sell them on for major profit with Edouard Mendy, Ismaïla Sarr and Raphinha examples of Premier League arrivals that have come from the club based in the northwest of France.
On Thursday night, Rennes will take on a fifth British side in four seasons when they travel to Leicester City in the first leg of the Europa Conference League round of 16 stage, having played against Tottenham Hotspur earlier this season as well as Chelsea, Celtic and Arsenal in European competitions over the previous three campaigns.
However, this is the lowest the Ligue 1 outfit have ranked in Europe since ending a six-year wait for continental football in 2018, with the tie against the Foxes being in the newly-formed Conference League.
Over the last four seasons, Les Rouge et Noir have finished sixth, third, tenth and fifth in the French top-flight, with a Coupe de France triumph in 2018/19 securing European football once again despite their lowest league finish since 2013/14.
Having finished bottom of their Champions League group last season, Bruno Génésio’s side are on course to enjoy the luxuries of Europe’s elite competition once again as they currently sit fourth in Ligue 1, having won five of their last seven matches.
However, the French side’s focus in Europe this season has been on the maiden Conference League campaign.
Having finished top of Group G ahead of Vitesse, Spurs and Mura, Rennes haven’t played in Europe for almost four months as their final group match away at Tottenham was postponed due to the North London club’s outbreak of positive Covid-19 cases, only for UEFA to deem the match forfeited in their favour.
Génésio will take his team to England though to take on a Leicester side who overcame Danish side Randers 7-2 on aggregate in the play-off round having dropped down from the Europa League after a disappointing campaign. Brendan Rodgers’ team, however, will certainly have ambitions of going all the way in the Conference League.
The Foxes were due to welcome back young French centre-back Wesley Fofana for the first time since he suffered a broken leg in a pre-season match against Valencia, but he has been ruled out due to a positive test for Covid-19.
After a tricky spell in the Premier League, Rodgers’ side go into the first leg off the back of two victories over Burnley and Leeds United, although they are still 12th in the league.
However, despite seeing the likes of Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Mendy (Chelsea), Raphinha (Leeds) and Sarr (Watford) depart over recent summers, the new crop of Rennes talent is certainly exciting.
19-year-old Belgian wonder kid Jeremy Doku is seemingly set to be the next star to eventually move on for greener pastures, with Newcastle United linked with a summer move.
However, this season has been overshadowed by injury struggles after a breakthrough campaign that ended with 90 minutes in Belgium’s 2-1 European Championship defeat to Italy, in which the winger won the penalty scored by Romelu Lukaku.
Doku has only managed to make 14 appearances across all competitions after suffering from a reoccurring hamstring injury, as well as a separate knee injury. However, the winger played 18 minutes on Sunday and registered an assist as Rennes beat Angers 2-0 and should be available for the trip to the East Midlands.
21-year-old French centre-back Loïc Badé could also be one for the future having joined from Lens in the summer, but he is currently nursing an abductor injury.
Rennes undoubtedly have a talented young squad, with their average age currently standing at 23.7 years, but the major threat across the two legs will undoubtedly be striker Gaëtan Laborde who is currently the joint-second top goalscorer in Ligue 1.
The 27-year-old Frenchman has had a stellar campaign thus far, scoring 19 goals in 32 appearances across the league and Europe, with the forward netting five times during Les Rouge et Noir’s five group matches in the Conference League.
Moreover Laborde, who signed from Montpellier at the end of the summer transfer window, has netted in each of his last three Ligue 1 matches.
Stade Rennais have been doing something special now for years and are certainly up there with one of the favourites to win the entire competition, alongside Leicester, as the two sides go into their mouthwatering round of 16 tie.
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Just nine months ago the Foxes were crowned FA Cup Champions against the soon to be European Champions Chelsea, with Youri Tielemans’ strike securing them their first ever title in the competition.
Such a win would surely be a catalyst for more success in the current campaign but this has been far from the case in reality, with both their domestic and European performances being sub-par.
It raises questions as to what is next for the club, what are their intentions after such an underwhelming season so far?
Leicester are currently sat 11th in the Premier League table, with just the seven wins from 22 games. They are 10 points behind Wolves in seventh, the final qualification spot for European football next season.
They had a mixed start to the campaign, picking up three wins and three losses in their opening eight games. Recent form has seen them fare worse though with the Foxes picking up just one victory in their last six, and their draw against West Ham United on Sunday evening saw them drop points from a winning position once again.
Brendan Rodgers’ side were also dumped out of the FA Cup in dreadful fashion as the holders were beaten 4-1 away at Nottingham Forest, including a 3-0 deficit at halftime.
Humiliation in the oldest competition in world football and a quarter-final exit in the Carabao Cup means that the Premier League is the only domestic competition they are still competing in, but it’s virtually impossible for them to win the title.
Their only saving grace now is to qualify for a spot in Europe next season, and even that in itself may not be an achievable prospect.
Towards the back end of last season the Foxes where third in the table with five games remaining, sitting five points clear of fourth placed Chelsea. They then lost three of their next five games and come the final day of the campaign, they finished fifth and in the Europa League spots.
Whether it’s a sense of complacency or tired legs heading into the remaining handful of games, Leicester cannot afford to repeat those mistakes if they are to play on the continent next season.
Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur still await them in the next three months, as well as the impressive Wolves this weekend. Reaching the European spots is not an impossible feat, especially with 16 games remaining, but their participation in the UEFA Conference League will not make things any easier.
The current campaign is only Leicester’s sixth ever season in European football, with them being knocked out of the Europa League Round of 32 last year by Slavia Prague 2-0 on aggregate.
A fifth placed finish in the league ensured that they would return to the competition this season, where they drew Spartak Moscow, Napoli and Legia Warsaw in their group. However their two wins, losses and draws meant that they finished third in the table and have now been demoted to the Conference League.
They brought their recent habits into their opening game against Napoli, drawing 2-2 despite being two goals up. Further disappointment in their group and a final game loss against their Italian opponents ensured they would not continue in the second tier of European football any further.
Such results have been a far cry from their 16/17 Champions League campaign, thanks to their remarkable Premier League title win the season before. They reached the quarter-finals of the competition and were knocked out by Atletico Madrid, who were the runners up the year before. Leicester were also the most successful English team in the competition that season, going further than the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Spurs.
While many fans don’t expect such heights anytime soon, a continental cup run could give them something to cheer about come the end of the campaign.
The Conference League is in its debut season and Rodgers’ side will face Randers FC. They are the clear favourites to progress against the side who are currently fifth in the Danish Superliga, and Leicester could also be argued to be one of the outright favourites for the whole tournament.
Roma, Marseille and Rennes will also have their sights set on the title and will certainly provide tough tests for Leicester should they meet. However a good showing in Europe from the Foxes would not only provide financial benefits but also that must needed belief and proof that they are in fact, a good team.
European success will therefore be crucial to their prospects next season but this won’t come without its challenges, let alone their focus on progress in the Premier League as they look to somewhat save their season domestically.
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]]>As the players were announced for the fixture, the north London crowd waited for one name only. Harry Kane, Tottenham captain for the evening, was announced to loud cheers from the home faithful.
The striker hailed as ‘one of their own’ almost opened the scoring within seconds of kick-off when latching onto a Cristian Romero pass only to power his shot over the bar.
Another new signing, Bryan Gil, was on display at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and drifted inside in the opening minutes to allow space for Ryan Sessegnon to parade down the left.
‘The Beatle from Barbate’ as he’s affectionately known constantly showed for the ball and excited fans on a cool evening in north London. His bright work was complimented with an assist on nine minutes to captain Kane after a fantastic tackle by Harry Winks.
The Tottenham midfielder timed his tackle perfectly to slide in and hook the ball away from the Pacos player before releasing Gil over the top of their high line. The Spanish under-21 international collected the pass and rolled a ball into the area for Kane to control and convert for the opener.
After a disappointing couple of seasons at Tottenham mostly plagued by injury, the sight of Sessegnon back in action would’ve pleased Spurs fans and the former Fulham man twice came close to scoring in the first half, inches away on both occasions from poking home.
Spurs’ biggest acquisition of the summer Romero, who joined the club from Atalanta, felt unfortunate to receive the first booking of the game after being adjudged to have fouled a Pacos player when set to be racing clear on the counter-attack.
Gil continued to impress the crowd and shaved the post with a deflected effort on 33 minutes, before Spurs’ second arrived on 34 minutes again through Kane.
A defensive mistake allowed Giovani Lo Celso the chance to capitalise but his shot was deflected by the defence into the path of Kane, who in similar fashion to his first goal, controlled the ball and slotted his finish into the corner.
Gil continued to be the spark for Spurs as the game entered the second half, a third goal likely to kill the tie and secure Tottenham’s passage into the UEFA Conference League group stages.
Argentine midfielder Lo Celso almost added that third but was only stopped by the legs of Pacos ‘keeper Andre Ferreira after a neat turn and shot. The former Sevilla youngster Gil was undoubtedly the player who impressed most on the night and the 20-year-old almost capped his performance with a goal on 67 minutes, narrowly pulling a shot wide after bursting into the area.
It would be the former PSG and Betis man Lo Celso to net the third, his deflected free-kick evading Ferreira in the Pacos goal.
All 30,215 fans inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium stood to applaud Kane and Gil from the pitch, replaced by Heung-Min Son and Steven Bergwijn for the final 15 minutes.
Dutchman Bergwijn has had a positive start to his third season in Tottenham colours and almost scored a spectacular fourth when twisting his way down the Pacos left before hitting the post.
The post thwarted Son too when set away from the impressive Lo Celso as Nuno Espirito Santo’s men ensured they continued to attack for 90 minutes.
3-0 it would finish to Spurs, a routine victory which sends them into the UEFA Conference League group stages.
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