Cyriel Dessers has admitted that Feyenoord players struggled to cope with the atmosphere at Stade Velodrome, during their Europa Conference League second leg semi-final clash with the French side.

Feyenoord held Marseille to a goalless draw in France in Thursday’s second leg to advance to the final of the competition 3-2 on aggregate.

The Dutch side were the underdogs for the semi-final against Marseille after a relatively smooth passage through the previous rounds, but almost got into trouble at the Stade Velodrome.

“The initial phase was the most difficult, Dessers said. This was mainly due to the smoke that lingered in the stadium after the fireworks were set off.”

“It was almost impossible to breathe. My eyes were stinging and my lungs were full of smoke, it was really terrible.”

“After we had survived that phase, there was a little more peace. We never really got into our game, that’s Marseille’s credit.”

Dessers is happy with the overall performance as Feyenoord defended with numbers to see out a hard fought win for the travelling fans.

“But we fought and gave away few chances. In Rotterdam it will surely be one popular festival. The supporters deserve that too, they have supported us all season,” He concluded.