The game was only three minutes in when the Spanish visitors found the net; Patrick Paauwe’s mistake letting in Edu, who punished the Dutch international to give Celta de Vigo the lead.
It was a hammer blow so early on and Feyenoord seemed to have trouble recovering. Lazovic showcased his class on eighteen when he ghosted past his marker before rifling in a powerful effort that just cleared the bar, but the chances were few and far between as Feyenoord found it difficult to get the ball up field and threaten the visitors’ goal.
The second half started with Schreuder in place of Swerts and the switch added more passion and more intelligence to the home side’s play. The chances flowed almost immediately. Van Persie thumped a free kick just over the bar, and Lankovic almost conjured the equaliser when Schreuder found him in space, but the ball flashed wide.
Considering it was his first full day as a Feyenoord player Schreuder was impressive. But the real livewire in a red and white shirt was Danko Lazovic. The Serbian saw more of the ball in the second half and continually showed that he has a great deal of promise. Lankovic is strong on the ball and able to lose his marker.
The Serbian’s performance was helped enormously by a renewed passion in the Feyenoord midfield after the break, which had a lot to do with the arrival of Schreuder. The new man looked very comfortable, directing play as if he had been at the Kuip for years.
Feyenoord-Celta de Vigo 0-1 (0-1)
3’ 0-1 Edu
FEYENOORD
Zoetebier; Song, Van den Berg, Paauwe, De Nooijer (86’ Jean); Kuyt, Swerts (46’ Schreuder), Acuña, Van Persie; Buffel (72’ Pardo), Lazovic (80’ Elmander).
Referee: D. Jol
Yellow card: Van den Berg
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