Cyriel Dessers netted twice as Feyenoord defeated Olympique Marseille 3-2 in the first leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final.
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The De Kuip crowd looked to boost their side with a fantastic atmosphere and they unveiled a giant banner reading, “Never stop dreaming” before kick-off. Feyenoord seemed energised at the start and they went close through both Cyriel Dessers and Marcos Senesi.
However, Marseille also caused danger and Feyenoord were lucky that Bamba Dieng missed two big chances to net for the visitors.
In the 18th minute, Dessers fired Feyenoord into the lead after a pass from Luis Sinisterra. Two minutes later, Reiss Nelson beat the offside trap and he set up Sinisterra to find the net via a deflection to make it 2-0 for the hosts.
De Kuip was bouncing but Marseille pulled themselves back into the game when Dieng fired past Ofar Marciano in the 28th minute. Five minutes before the break, the French side were level as Gerson netted on the rebound.
Marseille were looking to spoil the party in Rotterdam but within ten seconds of the second half, Feyenoord were back in front. Dessers chased down Marseille from the kick-off and he latched onto a poor pass from Duje Ćaleta-Car to net and make it 3-2. It was Dessers 10th goal in the competition this season.
Marseille went looking for an equaliser but Feyenoord lurked on the counter and Bryan Linssen almost took advantage. However, the forward’s strike was off-target.
Feyenoord managed to hold onto their lead and they take that advantage to Marseille next week as they look to book their place in the final.
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