Days after getting eliminated from the Champions League by Serie A champions Inter, Feyenoord were due to meet FC Twente in a direct battle for fourth place. Home side Twente hadn't lost in six straight Eredivisie games, giving Robin van Persie another challenge as he sought his first win as Feyenoord boss.
The visitors were given a boost by Igor Paixao's return. The Brazilian winger missed the away game in Milan due to injury but had recovered from a thigh injury. South Korean midfielder In-beom Hwang also made his return to the starting eleven.
It would not take long for Feyenoord to assert their dominance in Enschede - the home side was unable to create any chances or stop Feyenoord from creating a handful of them in the opening phase of the game.
Japanese striker Ayase Ueda opened the scoring after just ten minutes when young right-back Givairo Read delivered a perfect cross into Twente's box, and Ueda could freely head it in.
Paixao would double Feyenoord's lead just four minutes later after the Brazilian intercepted a cross-pitch pass from Matias Kjolo and hammered the ball in on a half-volley.
More defensive struggles would come to haunt Twente as Gustaf Lagerbielke fired the ball in team-mate Gijs Besselink's face and handed Paixao the ball in Twente's penalty area. The Brazilian sent a driven pass across Lars Unnerstall's goal, setting Ueda up for an easy 3-0 lead after just 23 minutes.
Twente would strike back before half-time thanks to Eredivisie's top goalscorer Sem Steijn, who converted from the spot, but the home crowd wouldn't gather much hope from his goal as Igor Paixao restored Feyenoord's two-goal lead in the 53rd minute.
The Brazilian would complete his hat-trick less than ten minutes later. Givairo Read sent another accurate ball into Twente's box and Paixao could finish it calmly through Unnerstall's legs.
Sem Steijn pulled one back for Twente yet again before Aymen Sliti - the youngster who debuted for Feyenoord against Inter earlier this week - scored his first senior goal in the 90th minute. Paixao delivered the assist and finished his day with five goal contributions against Twente.
After a draw against NEC and consecutive losses against Inter, Robin van Persie finally got his first win as Feyenoord manager. The Rotterdam side shot up to fourth, overtaking FC Twente and closing the gap to FC Utrecht to just two points with a game in hand.
