I'd be mad at Feyenoord keeper Justin Bijlow if I weren't so damn impressed with his awareness and quick-thinking. You see, contrary to what Zlatan Ibrahimović thinks, shithousers are forgivable — they provide us with great entertainment and inevitably get smacked by karma somewhere down the road because that's how fortune works in the beautiful game.
On Sunday, Bijlow's side took the lead over Twente in the 30th minute thanks to 21-year-old Mexican striker Santi Gimenez's fourth league goal of the season. However, just eight minutes later, Bijlow provided an extreme interpretation of the sweeper keeper role by racing out of goal and into a slide tackle near the touchline.
It looked like a really rash decision with Twente's Virgil Misidjan ready to take a quick throw-in and Bijlow still out near the advertising boards. But the 25-year-old keeper, who was in the Netherlands World Cup squad, saved a likely goal with some quick thinking.
Justin Bijlow en Virgil Misidjan #TWEFEY pic.twitter.com/xbWXl0panp
— ' Burak | #Eredivisie (@hollandaligleri) January 29, 2023
Feyenoord's goalkeeper thinks outside the box to prevent a goal pic.twitter.com/kjXtkDTMnM
— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) January 29, 2023
It would've been a really great moment if Misidjan had tagged him with the throw, but Bijlow was given a yellow card for his shithousing. The goalkeeper would also concede an equalizer in the 68th minute for a 1-1 draw.
Feyenoord is top of the table, two points above AZ Alkmaar after 19 games. Twente is six behind and in fifth. Bijlow's action could prove decisive in the Eredivisie title race.
