Helpless Feyenoord struggles in own Kuip against experienced Inter

Powerless Feyenoord lost on Tuesday evening in Inter’s own Kuip by 0‑3, after Yann Bisseck scored in the eighth minute, Francesco Pio Esposito in the 34th and Piotr Zielinski in the 54th. The result confirmed the gap between the Rotterdam club and the mature Italian top side.

Match overview and immediate reactions

Gjivai Zechiël sulked after a consolation goal. © Pim Ras Photography shows Zechiël’s disappointment. Internazionale played Tuesday evening with Feyenoord in the Kuip. In the official match notation the clubs were listed as FEY for Feyenoord and INT for Internazionale.

A quarter of an hour after the break, with a 0‑3 scoreline, both coaches were already looking at substitutions for the upcoming weekend. Cristian Chivu made a change because the score was already decided, while Giovanni van Bronckhorst made a substitution to keep the top spot on Sunday against Heerenveen. Giovanni van Bronckhorst had previously made it clear that his players needed to learn to achieve results at Champions‑League level. After the first three league matches – a 5‑1 defeat to FC Barcelona, a 3‑1 win over Como and a 1‑0 loss to Real Betis – he concluded that the team had the right approach.

Nevertheless, at the start of the encounter with the reigning champion of Italy a huge gap existed between knowledge and execution. Almost no Feyenoord player reached the required level in the opening phase. Oussama Targhalline operated at the slow pace of the Eredivisie, Mika Mármol easily gave away possession, Charles Vanhoutte found no solution, Javi López declined two shooting chances, goalkeeper Tjark Ernst failed on a back‑pass and 19‑year‑old defender Thijs Kraaijeveld was searching. Kraaijeveld suddenly faced Francesco Pio Esposito and Marcus Thuram, the physically powerful strikers of Inter.

The injury to Jeremiah St. Juste and the fact that Tsuyoshi Watanabe was not an own‑goal scorer gave Kraaijeveld a starting place in the Kuip pumped up by DJ Paul Elstak. After the quick 0‑1 from Yann Bisseck, former Roda JC player, captain Luciano Valente had reason to complain. The German defender pushed Valente under the ball, but Swiss referee Glenn Nyberg did not blow. The 0‑2 from Esposito, who headed a crumpled cross from Djed Spence, created a gloomy atmosphere in Rotterdam.

Feyenoord misses every chance at De Kuip vs Inter in the Champions League

Inter had earlier in San Siro suffered a 3‑4 loss to Club Brugge, which made two aspects disadvantageous for the Eredivisie leader. In the UEFA Youth League the Feyenoord youth were alone at the top, with 18‑year‑old Levi Haps standing out in the victory over Inter. In Rotterdam there was hope: if the Belgian champion could beat Inter, why couldn’t Feyenoord? The Belgian win in Italy, however, meant that Inter would go full throttle in Rotterdam. With only three points from the first three Champions‑League matches, Inter was forced to win in the Netherlands.

Individual performances and substitutions

After the poor start, Anis Hadj Moussa and Gjivai Zechiël crept a bit towards the Italian level. Zechiël delivered an excellent cross that was initially unappreciated, but later ended dangerously for goalkeeper Josep Martinez. He set Valente up for a shot with a flick, but the attempt remained off target. Van Bronckhorst substituted Charles Vanhoutte midway and brought on Tobias van den Elshout.

Jerayno Schaken (17) fell already a quarter of an hour after the break at Feyenoord. © Pim Ras Photography shows Piotr Zielinski’s goal: he scored shortly after the break via the inside of the post. Van Bronckhorst quickly pulled out Nacho Ferri, Givairo Read and Javi López, something he had never done with a promising scoreline. Sem Steijn, Tsuyoshi Watanabe and the 17‑year‑old Jerayno Schaken were in the squad.

Van Bronckhorst warns Inter, experience makes duel tough

Outlook and recent form

The intervention was understandable, as on Sunday Feyenoord faces pressure in Friesland against Heerenveen. The run against Real Betis, PSV, Fortuna Sittard and Inter yielded only two points.