Feyenoord suffered defeat at the hands of Spanish side Real Betis in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday. A second-half penalty scored by Isco resulted in a tight 1-0 defeat for the Rotterdammers.
The loss marks Feyenoord’s eighth consecutive away defeat in European competitions. They had lost the first game of the UEFA Champions League this season against FC Barcelona. They are currently 26th in the 36-team league.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst made no changes to the side that beat Como last week in De Kuip. Two former Eredivisie players started the game for the home side. Troy Parrott, who joined Betis from AZ Alkmaar last summer, and Antony, the former Ajax winger from Brazil.
Before the match, Van Bronckhorst publicly criticized the playing surface at the Estadio de La Cartuja in Seville, calling it a “clumpy field” and stating it was “not up to Champions League standards”. It visibly disrupted smooth passing for both teams throughout the night.
An error from centre-back Mika Marmol led to Real Betis’ biggest chance of the first half. Tjark Ernst was able to prevent Parrott from scoring.
Feyenoord had the biggest chance of the half a few minutes before halftime. Captain Luciano Valente played a deft through ball to Javi Lopez, and he smashed the ball across the six-yard box to Gijval Zechiel for an open goal, but the midfielder got too much power on the shot, sending it far over.
Real Betis were awarded a penalty in the 59th minute. Moroccan international Abde Ezzalzouli’s shot hit the arm of Jeremiah St. Juste, leading to referee Simone Sozza pointing to the spot. The penalty was calmly finished by five-time Champions League winner Isco.
It seemed to be the only way that a goal was going to be scored in the game, which was characterized by two solid defenses giving very little leeway to the attackers.
The victory gave Betis nine points from their opening three Champions League matches, putting the Spanish club fifth in the league-phase standings at the end of Wednesday’s game. The top eight teams qualify directly for the round of 16, while teams finishing ninth to 24th must contest a knockout play-off.
