‘I always hear I should shoot more often’

Mats Wieffer was the center of attention after Feyenoord’s 1-0 win over AS Roma. Not only because of his goal, but also because of his handball that led to a penalty kick just before halftime. Lorenzo Pellegrini shot at the post to everyone’s relief. A crucial moment.

“I did think it was a penalty, although I haven’t seen the moment again,” Wieffer said after the first quarterfinal match of the Europa League.

“I don’t really know what I should have done differently either. I think the ball was still changed direction.”

Coach Arne Slot disputed the Spanish referee’s decision. “As I experienced it, he has his arm along the body. Then in the Netherlands it’s not a penalty anyway, I’m very sure of that. That different rules apply in Europe, I can hardly imagine.”

Wieffer did have every reason to cheer in the second half. The 23-year-old midfielder, who made his Orange debut against Gibraltar in late March, scored handsomely shortly after halftime.

“I always hear that I should shoot more often. At that moment I had time to think and I thought: I’ll shoot in one shot, even if it goes out of the stadium. I did that once before and then the ball went in too, so maybe I should do it more often. It went in nicely.”

So prevailed the joy after the minute victory. The first blow is worth a dime, although in Rome the balance will only really be drawn up. Slot realized that all too well after the tricky match at De Kuip.

“Especially the last twenty minutes we experienced how tough it can still be next week. Nevertheless, this is a pleasant intermediate score,” he was referring to the 1-0.

AS Roma coach José Mourinho made it clear after the match that he is not awake to the defeat and also dealt a sneer: