N.E.C. Nijmegen and Feyenoord met at the Goffertstadion on 5 September 2026 in the fifth round of the Eredivisie regular season, and the visitors left with a 1:3 victory. NEC dominated the ball, Feyenoord took their chances, and the result leaves the hosts ninth on six points while the visitors move to third on eleven.
The first half ended goalless, though both sides received yellow cards on the stroke of half-time. Gjivai Zechiel and Noe Lebreton went into the referee's book in the 45th minute, and Oussama Targhalline followed a minute later. And here's the thing: that quiet period hid the shape Feyenoord would exploit.
Darko Nejašmić pulled one back for NEC in the 52nd minute, but Feyenoord responded immediately. Darko Nejašmić, the Nijmegen man, was wrong-footed as Luciano Valente struck in the 61st minute. Jerayno Schaken added a fourth shortly after, and the visitors had control. By then the visitors had control.
Substitutions followed in waves. Gaoussou Kyassou Diarra and Nacho Ferri came on for Feyenoord in the 59th minute, while Kaj Sierhuis, Clement Bischoff and Almugera Kabar were introduced for NEC in the 72nd. Gjivai Zechiel, Givairo Read, Dušan Tadić and Bram Nuytinck joined the action for the hosts in the 80th minute, and Oussama Targhalline was replaced in the 85th.
The statistics tell an uneven story. NEC held 62 per cent possession and completed 534 passes, but created only one big chance and shot seven times off target. Feyenoord registered 77 attacks, created four big chances, and converted 55 per cent of their shots on target. It is not uncommon for a team to dominate the ball and still lose; here the visitors paid for a sloppy opening and made Feyenoord pay for their own mistakes.
NEC sit ninth after four games, two wins and two losses, while Feyenoord occupy third with three victories and two draws from five matches. The prediction we offered was a home win at 39 per cent confidence, and it did not materialise. What broke it was Feyenoord's willingness to play direct when NEC pressed high, and the visitors' ability to find space between the lines.
