Feyenoord’s Champions League hopes were ended on Tuesday after a 3-1 loss at home to Atletico Madrid.
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After Lazio had defeated Celtic 2-0 earlier on Tuesday, Feyenoord knew that they had to avoid defeat to keep their hopes of progression alive.
Arne Slot decided to start with Yankuba Minteh on the wing and Calvin Stengs moved into the midfield. The hosts missed an early chance through Minteh, while at the other end, Justin Bijlow denied Alvaro Morata.
In the 14th minute, Feyenoord fell behind in unfortunate circumstances as Lutsharel Geertruida deflected a cross into his own net. Feyenoord then looked for an equaliser but Minteh was denied a penalty while Geertruida headed straight at Jan Oblak.
Antoine Griezmann hit the post for Atletico Madrid before Santiago Gimenez missed a great chance to equalise after being set up by Quilindschy Hartman. In the 53rd minute, Atletico doubled their lead as Mario Hermoso hammered the ball past Bijlow from a tight angle.
Memphis Depay came on for Atletico before Mats Wieffer pulled one back for the hosts with a header from a corner. However, Feyenoord’s chances of a comeback were ended by another own goal as Gimenez headed a free-kick past Bijlow.
The defeat leaves Feyenoord third in the table and with no chance of progressing in their final game against Celtic. A place in the Europa League awaits early next year.