Robin van Persie started his Feyenoord career with three games without a win, but got off the mark with a 6-2 win over FC Twente before the international break and grabbed his first home win as Feyenoord boss last Sunday against Go Ahead Eagles (3-2).
Brazilian winger Igor Paixao has played a huge role in those wins with four goals and two assists, but it was the other winger who got things started against FC Groningen as Algerian Anis Hadj Moussa opened the scoring after 10 minutes. After receiving the ball from midfielder Antoni Milambo, Hadj Moussa cut inside and calmly finished the ball at the near post.
An even match between the two sides saw both create opportunities in the opening 30 minutes, but the visitors were not able to get alongside Feyenoord.
Instead, it was Igor Paixao who scored his fifth goal in three games with a world-class curling effort in the top right corner.
The two-goal lead was short-lived, however, as FC Groningen would hit back just four minutes later. Wouter Prins delivered a low-driven pass across goal, which found Jorg Schreuders for his first goal since October 2024.
After former Brighton midfielder Jakob Moder hit the crossbar with a powerful strike, Feyenoord seemed to restore the two-goal lead on the brink of halftime, but Argentinian striker Julian Carraza's goal was ruled out for offside.
After the break, neither team found much space on the opposite half, resulting in a tight match with little to split the two sides.
It wouldn't be until the 82nd minute that Feyenoord successfully restored the two-goal margin—Igor Paixao scored his 12th goal of the season after Givairo Read and Ramiz Zerrouki set the Brazilian up.
Brighton loanee Ibrahim Osman ended Groningen's hopes of a miracle comeback in the 90th minute as the Ghanaian speedster beat Etienne Vaessen with a placed effort in the bottom right corner.
With their third straight victory, Feyenoord overtook FC Utrecht and now own the third spot, good for a spot in the Champions League qualifying rounds. FC Groningen stay in eighth place after their defeat.
View all the match statistics on Flashscore.
