After beating Benfica, Feyenoord feels good about Johan Cruyff Schall’s battle against PSV Eindhoven | Johan Cruyff scale

The first half was almost upon us on Sunday afternoon, when Santiago Jimenez made it 2-0 for Feyenoord against Benfica from a clever through ball from Quilindci Hartmann. Fans believe this should be celebrated. His name resonated powerfully throughout the sold-out Quip. The message that came through: With the legionnaire’s beloved Mexican back at point guard, the season can now truly begin for FC Rotterdam.

Jimenez. There have been a few rumors in recent weeks about Feyenoord’s top scorer from last season. After the Gold Cup, which was a great success for him and his country, will he stay in Rotterdam? Yes, director Dennis T. Klosi said recently during the training camp in Austria. In fact, according to Te Klozi, this very important striker will become even more important for Arne Slott’s side this season. He provided the first evidence of that on Sunday afternoon by scoring a brilliant volley, even though the Mexican looked offside.

In terms of strikers this season, there seems to be a lot going on at De Kuip. If only because the official presentation of Ayase Ueda is also expected this week. Since this weekend, an agreement has been reached with Cercle Brugge, the club for which the Japanese scored 22 goals last season.

Even without Ueda and without Gernot Trauner, who was appointed as the new first captain, Feyenoord made a creditable impression against Benfica through the cheerful Orkun Kukcu. Before Jimenez’s 1-0 win, who played 45 minutes, Igor Paixao had already scored the opening goal. The winger punished a loss of the ball from former Feyenoord player Frederik Orsnes as beautifully as he did expertly. In the second half, in which almost nothing happened and there were a lot of changes on both sides, Petar Musa made it 2-1 on behalf of Benfica in the final stretch.

Feyenoord’s season officially starts next Friday. At De Kuip, PSV will be the opponent in the battle for Johan Cruyff’s shield. It is highly questionable whether intended offensive boost Luka Ivanusec will actually be in the slot selection. There is no agreement yet with his current club, Dinamo Zagreb.

“It’s strange to play a match like this,” Kukcu said afterwards to the camera. espn. “Of course I know the patterns by heart. I know what they are going to do. You know they invite you to make a triangle, but it was difficult to convey that to the people in front of you. I realize now how difficult it was to play against us last season. But Feyenoord is now a thing of the past for me Now I have to find my feet at Benfica as quickly as possible.

Kukcu admitted he was really impressed with Benfica a few weeks later. “If I have to be honest, Benfica is a much bigger club, when I look at the interest and the fans. Everything is there at Benfica.” Next stage In reality. They say the Portuguese league is inferior to the English Premier League, but I haven’t experienced that yet. But I feel that Benfica is a very big club.

After that, Jimenez briefly looked back on his Gold Cup win with Mexico. “It was a very nice adventure. I enjoyed it, especially because I scored the winning goal in the final. Then I was able to rest for another week and clear my head. I have a lot of goals for the season. We want to defend the title. We have enough quality for that in this season.” Choice. I’m ready to go straight after a short break. I can’t promise to stay, but I’m here with my head and my heart. “I love the fans,” said the Mexican striker, who scored 23 goals in 45 games last season. His contract with Feyenoord remains until mid-2026. .