Feyenoord's unbeaten leaders took their row to the dressing room. PSV are next

By the Data Desk · Published 22 OCT 06:45

First reported by Mikos Gouka, via FR12 · 21 OCT 22:18

In the last minutes in Seville, Anis Hadj Moussa had the ball in the Real Betis box and did not find Sem Steijn, and after the final whistle the two Feyenoord players argued about it. Giovanni van Bronckhorst confirmed it at his press conference: the discussion carried on in the dressing room before things calmed down.

• Real Betis won 1-0 with an Isco penalty in the 59th minute; Betis had 23 shots and 10 on target, Feyenoord 12 and 2 (ESPN).
• Feyenoord lead the Eredivisie unbeaten, 7 wins and 2 draws, 23 points and 31-10. In the Champions League they have lost 2 of 3 and conceded 8.
• Next: PSV, third on 19 points, at home on Sunday 25 October, 13:30 UTC. A Feyenoord defeat there cuts the lead over PSV to one point.

Behind the scenes, the first account came from journalist Mikos Gouka, quoted by FR12: according to him, people around the two players had to step in. FR12 adds that how big the incident was is not clear. Van Bronckhorst played it down without denying it: "Ik zag het al op het veld gebeuren" (I already saw it happening on the pitch), and "In het topvoetbal heb je altijd discussies onderling, over bepaalde situaties" (at the top level you always have discussions among yourselves about certain situations).

He went on: "Het ging binnen nog even door, maar uiteindelijk is het ook weer rustig geworden" (it carried on inside for a while, but in the end it calmed down again). His view, as FR12 reports it, is that the friction was about football: "Er was wrijving, maar het was voetbalinhoudelijk en dat mag je altijd hebben" (there was friction, but it was about the football, and you can always have that). Not everyone took Steijn's side. Theo Janssen, analysing for Ziggo Sport, called the complaint "redelijk ver gezocht" (fairly far-fetched).

The context explains the tension. Steijn came off the bench in the 82nd minute for Luciano Valente, while Hadj Moussa started, and FR12 writes that Steijn is fighting for minutes. Four days earlier he scored twice in the 4-3 win at Telstar, the second from the penalty spot (ESPN).

What happens next: Feyenoord travel to the Philips Stadion on Sunday, 14:30 in the Netherlands. PSV lost 2-1 at ADO Den Haag on Saturday, then won 1-0 at Porto on Tuesday, and they are unbeaten at home in the league with three wins and a draw, 13-4. AZ, second on 20, host Twente later that evening: if both results go against Feyenoord, AZ would be level with them on points by the end of Sunday.