Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Gjivai Zechiël will have different opinions on whether now is an optimal time for a three-week international break. While Zechiël is set to join up with the Dutch national team tomorrow after receiving his first senior call-up, Feyenoord manager Van Bronckhorst will lament that his squad is flying off after bludgeoning FC Utrecht 5-0 on Sunday afternoon.
With new Netherlands manager Xavi Hernández in attendance at De Kuip, Zechiël – who spent last season on loan at Utrecht– continued his excellent start to the campaign, setting up a goal for Gaoussou Diarra before being substituted on 65 minutes. The 22-year-old Rotterdam native now has four assists to go along with five goals this season, meaning he leads the Eredivisie in goal contributions. Zechiël has quickly developed into one of the Eredivisie’s best central midfielders, and after the game he noted that being with the national team will help him improve further. “The Dutch national team is going to be a place where I can measure myself against the best,” he said.
For Zechiël, facing Germany on Thursday evening will certainly be a tougher test than facing Utrecht was on Sunday afternoon. Coming into the game, Feyenoord were yet to win at home this season, having only managed draws against Go Ahead Eagles and ADO Den Haag. But Feyenoord arrived with confidence after thumping PEC Zwolle 7-0 last weekend, and within six minutes they led through a marvellous solo goal by Anis Hadj Moussa. The Algerian picked up the ball on the right touchline, sped past Nikolas Panagiotou and charged into the penalty area before slamming the ball in at the near post with Utrecht goalkeeper Vasilas Barkas leaning the other way.
Feyenoord doubled their lead before the clock hit ten minutes. Hadj Moussa started the move, his cross-field pass being nodded down by Luciano Valente into the sprinting feet of Spanish left-back Mika Mármol. His dragback into the box reached his compatriot Nacho Ferri, who had space to take a touch before cracking a low shot beyond Barkas and in. Utrecht had already been generous in conceding six goals against PSV and five to AZ Alkmaar earlier in the season, and from early on in this match their main goal was to keep the score down, the visitors allowing Feyenoord to keep possession and often posting all eleven players behind the ball.
Not that Feyenoord stopped creating chances. Fifteen minutes in, the lanky, graceful midfielder Oussama Targhalline eased past Utrecht’s Dani de Wit before stroking a through-ball to Hadj Moussa; the Algerian’s shot was blocked, dropping to Givairo Read whose effort was deflected wide. Ferri came close to scoring a second, sprinting into the area and receiving a pass from center-back Jerry St. Juste, only for Barkas to extend himself and make the save.
When Utrecht tried dabbling on the ball, they were trapped by Feyenoord’s high press. In one case, Targhalline and Ferri closed in on visiting defender Matisse Didden as he received a pass near the edge of his own box. The Belgian panicked as though he were a pedestrian who had ventured into the bike lane and was about to be run over by a pair of Dutch cyclists, and booted the ball out for a Feyenoord throw.
It was 3-0 to Van Bronckhorst’s team by halftime, Hadj Moussa scoring his second in very similar fashion to his first. Again the Feyenoord winger was allowed to steam down the right and cut into the box, where he looked as though he was going to curl the ball toward the far post before instead almost pulling the ball from underneath his body in at the near stick. Hadj Moussa, who was set to move to Al-Ittihad of the Saudi Pro League before the transfer collapsed on deadline day earlier this month, was purring, his creativity and pace too much for the fragile Utrecht rearguard to handle.
It’s been a tough start to Anthony Correia’s tenure as Utrecht head coach, his first seven matches only producing five points. Artem Stepanov, a striker on loan from Bayer Leverkusen and nicknamed the ‘Ukrainian Haaland’ for his blond, ponytailed hair, has been a rare bright spot with five Eredivisie goals already notched, but he was forced off with what looked like a left knee injury after a half-hour had been played. Without him, Utrecht were impotent in attack, only managing a single shot on target to test Feyenoord goalie Tjark Ernst.
It would get worse for Utrecht in the second half. Feyenoord captain Valente made it four from the penalty spot after Didden handled in the area, and the Malian substitute Diarra– who four years ago was a student in Turkey playing amateur soccer on the side– scored his first goal in a Feyenoord shirt from Zechiël’s assist to complete the rout. Van Bronckhorst will only hope that the extended break doesn’t disrupt his squad’s momentum ahead of a crucial month of October.
Inthehalfspace 