Feyenoord’s Champions League campaign ended on Wednesday with a last minute 2-1 win over Napoli in De Kuip.

Feyenoord were already confirmed to finish bottom of the group regardless of the result on Wednesday, but they went into the game wanting to give the home crowd something to cheer. With injuries to Ridgeciano Haps and Miquel Nelom, 18-year-old Tyrell Malacia made his debut at left-back, while Jean-Paul Boetius replaced Sam Larsson.

Napoli needed a victory to keep their chances of qualifying alive and after only two minutes they took the lead through Piotr Zielinski, who fired in after Feyenoord failed to clear a free-kick.

The visitors went in search of more goals but Kenneth Vermeer saved well from Dries Mertens and Jose Callejon, while Renato Tapia made a good block to deny Marek Hamsik. Feyenoord survived the onslaught without conceding a second and just after the half-hour mark Nicolai Jorgensen headed in an equaliser from a Steven Berghuis cross.

In the second half, Napoli had a lot of possession but Feyenoord defended well and limited their chances. Six minutes before the end, Tonny Vilhena saw red for a second yellow card and Feyenoord looked content to hold on for a point.

However, in the 91st minute, Substitute Jeremiah St Juste netted from a corner to seal victory for Feyenoord and earn the Rotterdammers the first points of the competition. Feyenoord bow out of Europe, but the win will give them confidence going back into their league campaign, whilst earning Netherlands some much-needed coefficient points.




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