Feyenoord were unable to follow up on their impressive victory over Lazio two weeks ago. On Tuesday night, Arne Slot’s side suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat in Rome despite being the better side for large spells in the match. It was Ciro Immobile who scored the winner for the hosts, with what was their only shot on target in the entire match.
Just two weeks ago, Feyenoord made a huge impression by beating Lazio 3-1 at De Kuip. Tuesday’s clash lacked the chances and creativity that had been put on display in their previous meeting. Unfortunately for Feyenoord, Bart Nieuwkoop was stretchered off just 20 minutes into the game. The man who was the match winner against Waalwijk on Saturday suffered a nasty looking injury following a collision with Elseid Hysaj.
A chance went begging for Santiago Giménez after half an hour. The Mexican striker scored twice on his Champions League debut two weeks ago, but this time Lazio goalkeeper Ivan Provedel had the better of him. Then, just before half-time Ciro Immobile netted with Lazio’s only big chance of the game. The experienced striker did brilliantly to work his way around Justin Bijlow before converting into an empty net. That was the 33-year-old’s 200th goal for Lazio.
Feyenoord continued to waste their chances throughout the second half. The current Eredivisie champions dominated possession and racked up eight second-half goal attempts, but they still weren’t able to put the ball into the back of the net. Lazio boss Maurizio Sarri made defensive changes to try and see the game out. And despite a flurry of late Feyenoord corners, Lazio were able to claim all three points, moving them up to second in Group E and sending Feyenoord down to third place.
Next up for Feyenoord, it’s Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. Diego Simeone’s side have just beaten Celtic 6-0 in their biggest-ever Champions League victory. Lazio face Celtic next and they’ll be determined to take all three points after Tuesday night’s results.
