Feyenoord Stun Bayern: Gimenez and Bijlow Shine in Memorable Night at De Kuip | OneFootball

A cold, wet, and smoky night in Rotterdam set the stage for a dramatic encounter at De Kuip. The match got off to a delayed start due to pyrotechnic smoke engulfing the pitch, but the atmosphere reached fever pitch by the 7th minute as the game properly began amidst a cacophony of noise.

Bayern, with just one away win in this season's Champions League, ironically in Gelsenkirchen, struggled to assert themselves early. Santiago Gimenez announced himself in the 21st minute, bringing the home crowd to life. The Feyenoord striker latched onto an exquisite long ball from Gijs Smal, slicing between Kim Min-Jae and Alphonso Davies to fire a thunderous finish past Ulreich, perfectly exploiting Bayern’s high defensive line.

Kingsley Coman looked Bayern’s brightest spark in attack, testing Justin Bijlow with a curling effort that the Feyenoord keeper did well to handle in the challenging conditions. Coman nearly turned provider in the 33rd minute, weaving through the defence before forcing another superb save from Bijlow, who pushed the ball wide with no Bayern player on hand to capitalize.

Harry Kane came close to restoring parity just before halftime, striking a sweet half-volley that Bijlow miraculously palmed away with a diving save to his left. In stoppage time, Bijlow's reflexes were again tested, this time to deny his teammate, Igor Paixão, from scoring an own goal.

The drama reached a crescendo in the final moments of the half as Feyenoord launched a devastating counterattack. Gimenez’s surging run came to an end after some good Bayern defending.

However, the ball ended up at the feet of Paixão, who won a penalty after being brought down by Bayern’s Guerreiro just moments after finding the back of his own net. Gimenez provided the composure and clinical edge to ensure they went into halftime with the advantage, as the underdogs threatened to produce a famous upset on a memorable night in Rotterdam.

The second half began with the visitors aiming to assert themselves and claw themselves back into the tie. The intentions of Vincent Kompany's men were visible early on, with Michael Olise unleashing a powerful effort that sailed towards the section of De Kuip housing the travelling Bayerische contingent.

Recreating his antics of the first half, Bijlow continued to have a major say in things, getting a strong hand to a powerful Jamal Musiala header in the 60th minute.

Continuing to plug and plug, Bayern came agonisingly close when Harry Kane saw his shot from eight yards out blocked by David Hancko, who kept out what was almost a certain goal for the English forward. And, just two minutes later, Leroy Sane saw a free header cannon off the bottom of the post.

However, as the minutes ticked on, Feyenoord continued to believe that it just might be their night, and it was confirmed in the 89th minute when Ayase Ueda slid the ball past Manuel Neuer after another well-executed counter-attack that, once again, had the prints of Santiago Gimenez all over.

Ending the game with over 30 attempts, Bayern failed to score at De Kuip, leaving Vincent Kompany's men in 15th ahead of next week's clash against Slovan Bratislava at Allianz Arena.