Rampant Manchester City ready for Champions League march on under-strength Feyenoord
Citizens outclassed Liverpool in every department in European warm-up
Feyenoord may have beaten Heracles 4-2 in a Dutch top flight match over the weekend, but their opponents came dangerously close to scoring more goals – a fact no doubt that will play on coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s mind.
The Rotterdam club faced a further blow up front after leading striker Nicolai Jorgensen came off with a leg muscle injury 21 minutes into the Heracles game.
The 26-year-old Danish international – last year’s Eredivisie top scorer with 21 goals in 32 games – will not play in the City match which opens their group F campaign, Feyenoord announced on Monday.
With Jorgensen out, former Dutch skipper and Arsenal midfielder Van Bronckhorst will now have to draw on every ounce of Premier League experience if he is to try and outfox Guardiola’s team.
De Bruyne told British media on Monday: “The guys who have come in have a very physical quality, they are very strong, very pacy. They make the pitch big, that is a quality of them and it is difficult for the other teams.”
Meanwhile, Feyenoord winger Steven Berghuis said he expected it to be a tough night for the hosts, European Cup winners in 1970.
“It’s going to be tough to stay standing against this club (Manchester City),” Berghuis told daily tabloid De Telegraaf.
“The only thing we can do is to try to make them pay a price and play a game with lots of energy.”
The match will be played at the daunting De Kuip (The Tub) stadium in front of thousands of fanatical Feyenoord fans called “The Legion”.
Some hard core Feyenoord supporters have built up a reputation as troublemakers, getting involved in skirmishes with the law and fans of other clubs.
In February 2015, drunken Feyenoord fans trashed Rome’s famous Piazza di Spagna ahead of a Europa League clash.
Earlier this year, police arrested dozens of Feyenoord supporters who rioted after losing to local club Excelsior, preventing them from become Dutch champions on the day.
Although no trouble is expected on Wednesday, Rotterdam police said they “will be ready to deal with various situations, should it be needed.”