A draw on 19th February 2025 was enough to make Feyenoord among the first teams to qualify for the Round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League.
This draw came after a 1st leg win of 1-0 in Feyenoord’s home ground, De Kuip.
On aggregate, Feyenoord progressed with a 2-1 victory over 2 legs that saw them defeat the mighty AC Milan in an interesting match-up. AC Milan, are the second most successful club in the UCL’s history while Feyenoord has 1 title that was over 50 years ago. Feyenoord have been knocked out in the Group stage of the previous UCL format for the past couple of seasons but this new format has brought luck to minnow sides who used to face problems getting past the group stages.
The two teams have a good rapport as they conducted business over this winter transfer window. Santiago Gimenez completed his transfer from Feyenoord to AC Milan successfully this month. The Striker also managed to score in the 1st minute of the game but refrained from celebrating as he apologised to Feyenoord’s fans.
This matchup had garnered a lot of eyeballs after the 1st leg as everyone would have thought AC Milan would progress without any problem but a shock defeat for AC Milan in the 1st leg meant that they needed to win against Feyenoord in their home ground.
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AC Milan vs Feyenoord 2nd Leg
AC Milan managed to score through Gimenez in the 1st minute and were looking dangerous in the initial phases of the play. A Theo Hernandez strike also got deflected off the bar during the play. The first half was dominated by AC Milan as they kept the ball and continued to weave passes in and around the Feyenoord box.
They had the better chances out of the two but failed to capitalise on any of the chances as Feyenoord’s defence looked solid. In the start of the second half, a controversial sequence happened as Theo Hernandez got a yellow card for diving in Feyenoord’s penalty area which meant an indirect Red Card as he got one yellow card in the 1st half for tugging the opponent’s jersey.
This decision turned the match upside down as 10-man Milan needed at least one more goal to qualify for the round of 16. Without Hernandez, Milan struggled both offensively and defensively as he is pivotal to both the roles.
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The pressure of playing with 10 men got to Milan as Julian Carranza scored in the 73rd minute and got the away team in parity. After that goal, it was a struggle for Milan as they continuously tried to attack from the flanks but to no avail. The match finished with a 1-1 scoreline with Feyenoord advancing on aggregate of 2-1.
This is being termed as the upset of Qualifying round as Feyenoord have done it against the odds and displayed character even after losing their main striker to Milan in the winter.
Also read- UEFA Champions League Real Madrid vs Manchester City: What To Expect In 2nd Leg
