Feyenoord have suffered their second defeat in the Europa league group stages as they were beaten 3-1 in Croatia by HNK Rijeka.
- Follow Football-Oranje on Twitter
After beating Standard Liege in the last round of matches, Feyenoord went to Croatia in confident mood, and they began the first half on top, with Elvis Manu seeing an effort stopped by Ivan Vargic, before the winger saw a fierce strike stopped on the line.
Five minutes before the break Rijeka missed a glorious chance to take the lead as forward Andrej Kramaric failed to beat Feyenoord goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer from six yards out after being set up by midfielder Moises. At the start of the second half Manu once again came close to breaking the deadlock, shooting just over, while Jens Toornstra forced Vargic into a good stop.
On 63 minutes Rijeka punished Feyenoord for their wasted chances as Kamaric gave the hosts the lead from close range, but two minutes later Toornstra equalised with an excellent free kick.
Kamaric restored Rijeka’s lead on 71 minutes, racing onto a through ball before lifting it over Vermeer, and the striker then completed his hat-trick five minutes later from the penalty spot after he was a fouled in the box by Terence Kongolo, although replays showed any foul was outside the area.
Debutante Matthew Steenvoorden hit the crossbar late on for Feyenoord, but HNK Rijeka held on comfortably for the win. Feyenoord now sit bottom of the group, but lie only two points behind leaders Sevilla.
Follow
Follow @Footballoranje_ on Twitter
