Feyenoord swept aside by Inter in painful Champions League defeat

Feyenoord suffered a convincing 3-0 Champions League defeat to Inter at De Kuip on Tuesday, leaving Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team with three points from four matches. The Rotterdam side struggled to break down their Italian opponents and were behind after only eight minutes.

Yann Bisseck opened the scoring with a powerful left-footed finish into the far corner. Feyenoord’s best first-half opportunity fell to Anis Hadj Moussa after he worked his way past two defenders, but goalkeeper Josep Martínez denied the winger. Inter doubled their advantage before the interval when Francesco Pio Esposito headed home at the back post after Djed Spence’s shot had been deflected.

Van Bronckhorst introduced 19-year-old Tobias van den Elshout for Charles Vanhoutte at half-time, but the change did not alter the direction of the contest. Piotr Zielinski made it 3-0 in the 54th minute, advancing with the ball before finding the net via the inside of the post. Pio Esposito later had another effort disallowed for a narrow offside.

The difficult evening was reflected in Voetbalzone’s player ratings. Goalkeeper Tjark Ernst and Vanhoutte both received a four, while Givairo Read, Javi López and Nacho Ferri were each marked at 4.5. Young defender Thijs Kraaijeveld and midfielder Oussama Targhalline earned Feyenoord’s highest scores of six. Feyenoord now face matches against FC Porto, Viking FK, Galatasaray and RB Leipzig in their attempt to reach the play-off round.