Albeanu Leads Feyenoord’s Seven-Goal Rout

Three goals and two assists gave Andrei Albeanu a hand in five of Feyenoord Rotterdam’s seven, but the scale of his influence was clearer still in the rhythm of the night: six shots, three on target and 56 completed passes from 65. His perfect match rating and player-of-the-match award followed a performance that made the contest feel increasingly like his own.

Feyenoord won 7-1 on 15 August, with Albeanu’s contribution at the heart of a side that held 67 per cent possession and put ten of 16 shots on target. U Craiova 1948 CS managed five attempts, only two on target, and one goal. The scoreline was emphatic; the figures show how consistently Feyenoord brought the game towards their opponents’ goal, and how often Albeanu helped turn pressure into danger.

There was no solitary act around which to build the story. Albeanu scored three times, created two goals for others and added three key passes, a blend of finishing and service that left the Romanian striker central to both the breakthrough and the onward rush. Armando Raimundo, with two goals and an assist of his own, supplied a formidable supporting performance, earning a 9.6 rating. Yet the evening’s distinction belonged to Albeanu.

For Feyenoord, a club with deep roots in European football, such a result offers an early measure of force in the Champions League. For Albeanu, it was a display of completeness rather than a brief flowering in front of goal: he was involved in the finishing, the creation and the circulation. The noise of a seven-goal night will fade; the quieter measure is how much of it passed through one player’s feet.