Nacho Ferri did not just score twice for Feyenoord against PEC Zwolle on Sunday afternoon, he scored three times. Shortly after the historic 0-7 win, referee Alex Bos told coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst that the opening goal had also been awarded to the Spanish striker.
The 0-1 had initially gone down as an own goal by Simon Graves after Ferri's shot went in off the PEC defender. "I've just been told by the referee that the first goal has also been awarded to Nacho Ferri," Van Bronckhorst said afterwards on ESPN. "It's nice for him that he gets a hat-trick."
That means Ferri can immediately add his first three official goals for Feyenoord to his tally in Zwolle. "If you're a striker and you haven't scored yet for your new team, then a goal is always welcome. Let alone three," said Van Bronckhorst, who can see his forward growing more and more comfortable.
"I think he is much fitter than at the start of the season," the coach continued. "That also means we can play through him: he can hold the ball up and is choosing his positions in the box better and better. That's why he scores three times today as well."
Van Bronckhorst was also particularly pleased with Feyenoord's display as they overwhelmed PEC from the first minute. "I thought we played very well from minute one: very aggressive, very dynamic and very quick. Personally, this may well be the best half I have seen my team play."
He put that dominance mainly down to his own side's play. "We gave the opponents no space and when we lost the ball, we had it back almost immediately. That is the only way to truly dominate a match."
Givairo Read and Anis Hadj Moussa also earned praise from Van Bronckhorst. "Today you saw Givairo's qualities: getting forward, the link-up on the right-hand side, appearing at the right moments and providing assists. Physically and defensively too, he stands his ground, so for me he is a very complete player."
Hadj Moussa, with two goals, also played an important part in the thumping win, but Van Bronckhorst was especially pleased with the bigger picture. "The result and the three points are nice, but above all this is the way we want to move forward. I told the boys: this is our ceiling, and now it is up to us to maintain it. That is the hardest part and at the same time the challenge we want to take on."