October 23, 2020 - In the first round of the Europa League group stage on Thursday, Rijeka falls to Real Sociedad and Dinamo draws to Feyenoord.
Rijeka opened their performance in Group F of the Europa League with a last-minute defeat at Rujevica stadium against Real Sociedad (0:1). In the second match of this group, Dutch club AZ Alkmaar beat Napoli away with an identical result.
Against the currently leading team of the Spanish Championship, Rijeka played an excellent first half during which they had more chances to score. Still, in the continuation of the second half, they were forced to defend time after time - though they almost managed to hold on.
In the final minutes of the match, Rijeka could no longer keep possession, and the great pressure from Real Sociedad eventually brought a goal. Veteran David Silva played Merin on the left-wing, who found the middle of the penalty area where Bautista managed to beat Nevistić for 0:1.
In the second match of this group, AZ Alkmaar surprised Napoli away by defeating them 1:0 with a goal by Karlsson (57). Thus, after the first round, Real Sociedad and AZ Alkmaar have three points each, while Rijeka and Napoli are without points.
In the second round, Rijeka will play against AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands in a week, while Real Sociedad will host Napoli.
In the second match of the day, Dinamo Zagreb played 0:0 against Feyenoord in the first round of Group K at Maksimir. However, they had a numerical advantage in the last 20 minutes. In the second match of this group, Wolfsberg and CSKA Moscow played 1:1.
The Croatian champion played a solid game against the Dutch club in which Feyenoord was better in the first half and Dinamo in the second half.
Feyenoord was much more dangerous at the beginning of the match. In the seventh minute, Jakić reacted catastrophically and brought down Diemers in the box, awarding a penalty to Feyenoord. Fortunately, the great Dominik Livaković defended the strike of captain Berghuis to keep the game 0:0.
Dinamo received an unexpected gift about 20 minutes before the end of the match, playing with an extra player on the pitch. Namely, the second yellow was given to Senesi for fouling Dinamo captain Ademi. Unfortunately, Dinamo was still unable to score, and the match ended 0:0.
In Group K's second match, CSKA took the lead against Wolfsberg in Klagenfurt in the fifth minute with a goal by Gaich on a pass from Nikola Vlašić, and Liendl equalized for 1:1 from a penalty in the 42nd minute.
Thus, after the first round, all four teams in this group have one point. In a week, Dinamo will play against CSKA Moscow in the second round, while Feyenoord will host Wolfsberg.
You can see all of the results HERE.
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