Feyenoord Convert Four Big Chances in 3-1 at Nijmegen

Feyenoord beat Nijmegen 3-1 in Eredivisie Round 5 while holding only 38% of the ball. The shot count was almost even at 12-11. The quality was not: Feyenoord created four big chances to one, put six shots on target to two, and finished with 1.11 expected goals to 0.74.

Key Numbers

Nijmegen completed 433 of 524 passes (83%). Feyenoord completed 245 of 321 (76%). Corners were 1-1. Yellow cards finished 1-2. The possession gap did not produce a chance gap. It produced the opposite.

All four goals landed in a 12-minute window after half-time. The first half ended 0-0. The second half ran 1-3. Feyenoord needed fewer touches to create the better looks.

Tactical Reading

Dick Schreuder set Nijmegen in a 3-4-1-2 with Dusan Tadic in the XI. Giovanni van Bronckhorst used a 4-3-3. The first 45 minutes stayed scoreless despite two first-half yellows for Noa Lebreton and Gjivai Zechiel.

Zechiel opened the scoring in the 52nd minute from a Nacho assist. Darko Nejasmic equalized three minutes later. Feyenoord then replaced Gaoussou Diarra and Nacho with Ruben Schaken and Sem van Persie on 59 minutes.

The changes paid immediately. Luciano Valente restored the lead in the 61st minute from a Zechiel assist. Schaken added the third in the 64th, again from Zechiel. Nijmegen's later substitutions never recovered the chance deficit.

Standout Performers

Zechiel scored the opener and assisted both Valente and Schaken. That is one goal and two assists in 12 minutes after the break. Valente and Schaken finished the two chances that turned 1-1 into 1-3.

Nejasmic supplied Nijmegen's only goal. The hosts' 12 shots and 62% possession produced just two shots on target and one big chance. Feyenoord's 11 shots produced six on target and four big chances.

What It Means

Feyenoord sit second after three matches with seven points, 10 scored and five conceded, in the Champions League qualification zone. Nijmegen are ninth after two matches with three points and a 4-4 goal record.

For live soccer on TV viewers, this was a control-versus-incision game. Nijmegen kept the ball. Feyenoord kept the box entries that counted. A 0.37 xG gap and a 4-1 big-chance gap explain a two-goal away win better than the 62% possession line does.