FC Utrecht secured a vital domestic victory on Sunday, snapping a two-game losing streak and providing a morale boost ahead of their struggling Europa League campaign where they are yet to earn a point. The Dutch club defeated NEC Nijmegen 1-0 in an 11th-round match of the Dutch league.
Spanish forward Miguel RodrÃguez scored the decisive goal in the 41st minute, marking Utrecht’s first win after recent defeats to Freiburg in the Europa League (2-0) and AZ Alkmaar in the domestic competition (4-1).
Utrecht will host Portuguese club FC Porto on Thursday afternoon at 5:45 PM local time in a critical Europa League group stage fixture.
Utrecht is currently one of only four teams in the Europa League without any points, sitting at the bottom of their group. FC Porto, by contrast, holds six points in the competition.
The domestic win lifted Utrecht to sixth place in the Dutch league standings with 16 points. They now sit 12 points behind league leaders Feyenoord and have surpassed NEC Nijmegen, who dropped to eighth place with 15 points.