Hwang In-beom, Feyenoord debut in UCL…Received highest rating

National soccer team midfielder Hwang In-beom (28) performed well in his debut match for Feyenoord (Netherlands) in the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League (UCL), but was unable to prevent the team’s defeat.

Feyenoord lost 0-4 to Germany’s Leverkusen in the first leg of the 2024-2025 UCL league phase held at the Feyenoord Stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands on the 20th (Korean time).

The match on this day was the debut match for Feyenoord of Hwang In-beom, who transferred from Crvena Zvezda (Serbia) on the 3rd, just before the September A-match period. After playing for the Hong Myung-bo national team, Hwang In-beom returned to Feyenoord and immediately played his first match in front of home fans on the UCL stage after receiving a work permit.

Hwang In-beom, who took the midfielder position in the 4-3-3 formation, performed well, providing good passes and attacking opportunities, and even participating in defense. Football statistics site Footmob gave Hwang In-beom the highest rating of 6.7 among Feyenoord players. Hwang In-beom recorded 3 shots and a pass success rate of 82%.

Last season’s Eredivisie runners-up Feyenoord were outclassed by Bayer Leverkusen, who won the German Bundesliga undefeated, as they collapsed after conceding four goals in the first half.

Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz opened the scoring with a low shot from the penalty arc in the fifth minute of the first half, and Alex Grimaldo added another goal in the 30th minute.

In the 36th minute of the first half, Wirtz scored a multi-goal by volleying a cross from the right side by Jeremy Frimpong in a counterattack situation. In addition, an own goal by Feyenoord goalkeeper Timon Belenreuther was added in the 44th minute of the second half.

Feyenoord attempted to score a comeback goal in the 21st minute of the second half with Hwang In-beom’s bold free kick attempt from the left corner of the penalty area, but failed to do so. With Hwang In-beom’s departure, national team fullback Seol Young-woo, the only Korean player left for Zvezda, made his UCL debut without a hitch.

Zvezda lost 1-2 to Portuguese powerhouse Benfica in the first leg of the league phase held at Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade, Serbia. It was Seol Young-woo’s debut on the top stage in Europe, after leaving Ulsan HD in June and wearing the Zvezda uniform.

Seol Young-woo did not score any attack points, but played the full time. Seol Young-woo also received the highest rating of 7.2 among Zvezda players from Footmob. Benfica solidified their victory with Karim Akturkoğlu’s opening goal in the 9th minute of the first half and Orkun Kökçu’s additional goal. Kökçu’s goal became Benfica’s winning goal when Zvezda Milsong scored in the 41st minute of the second half.

In this UCL, where the number of participating teams has increased from 32 to 36, the first round will be the ‘League Phase’, in which each team plays 4 home and 4 away games according to the matchups determined by draw.

Reporter Ahn Hee-soo [email protected]