How many opportunities can you miss? Club Brugge did itself short – after a strong second half – in an intense Bruges derby: 1-1. Thanks to the draw, Club leapfrogs Antwerp to third place.
LOOK. Club Brugge takes the final point
Also read. Bad luck for Club Brugge: Thiago narrowly offside with a knee, just missing a penalty and hitting the post or crossbar three times
“The mindset of the players is good. They are eager to get started.” Nicky Hayen’s words at his press conference ahead of the Bruges derby promised well. But we saw a lot of bad things from Club in the first half. At the back, Blue-Black played too laterally. Ordonez and co. delayed too long. And that’s exactly what you’re not allowed to do against Cercle. De Verenging was quick, pinned Club down and recaptured the ball high on the pitch. Their favorite game.
The first big chance was for Cercle. Denkey slipped through the offside trap and tapped the ball a little too far in front of him – Jackers kept alert. Firm warning for Club, that a little later things turned out well. Nusa was sent deep, cut inside and saw his shot parried by Warleson.
The Bruges derby turned out not to be a high-flyer in terms of football, on both sides.
Just after the half hour, the opening goal came out of nowhere. Free kick from Van Der Bruggen towards the second zone, where Utkus brought the ball in front. Denkey – who else? – tapped in from close range: 1-0. His 24th league goal already. How many million will he be sold for this summer?
Club seemed to be on the same level just before half time. Thiago reached the back line. His center ended up via Popovic at Nusa, whose deflected shot outwitted Warleson. However, the VAR had – rightly – seen Thiago offside. So no equalizer. New target for Club.
And yet it came out excellently from the dressing room. Club suddenly played Cercle completely in a pile and created enormous opportunities. Nusa decided straight at Warleson, kicked the post in the restart and in the third instance an attempt by Skoras was cleared off the line. It is unlikely that blue-black did not score there.
A handful of minutes later, Warleson deflected Nusa’s shot (via the post) out of the goal. And Vanaken also failed to score – he should have headed in a center from Vetlesen, but pushed over with his foot.
The blue-black stampede continued. Popovic blocked the ball with his hand, just outside the penalty area. The fact that ref Lambrecht initially whistled for a penalty was corrected by the VAR. Vanaken then blasted the free kick… onto the crossbar. It just didn’t work out for an inefficient Club.
Blauw-zwart continued to push, Cercle could no longer cope and was nowhere. Warleson, who played a strong game, kept Jutglà from scoring the equalizer. But Cercle couldn’t keep this up, right?
So no. Substitute Skov Olsen – fully released – pushed in in the far corner: 1-1. More than deserved. Club was still looking for victory, Warleson boxed a Nielsen header out of his cage, but it remained a draw. Not a perfect start in the Champions’ Play-Offs for Club Brugge, which can improve in the second half.
Nicky Hayen: “Mainly remember the good second half”
Miron Muslic: “We will come away with a point”
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90’+6′
End of second half
90’+5′
Kevin Denkey is replaced by Kazeem Olaigbe
90+1′
Warleson keeps Nielsen from winning
Skov Olsen finds Nielsen and he heads towards goal from close range, but again there is that clever Warleson to keep Club from the winning goal.
85′
VAR: GOAL confirmed
It is still being checked whether there is any annoying offside by Nielsen, who was in the path of the shot. But the VAR approves the equalizer.
83′
1-1 GOAL by Andreas Skov Olsen!
But Club Brugge’s incessant pressure cannot remain without consequences. Ultimately it is Andreas Skov Olsen who pushes the ball past Warleson into the corner.
81′
Warleson returns with a bang from Jutglà
Cercle is completely pushed back into its own half and groans under the pounding of Club. But Warleson keeps his team straight. The Brazilian also deflects a shot from Jutglà.
78′
Bjorn Meijer is replaced by Maxim De Cuyper
71′
Vanaken shoots a free kick onto the crossbar
Hans Vanaken stands behind the ball and hits it hard against the crossbar.
73′
Alan Minda is replaced by Félix Lemaréchal
70′
Ref whistles penalty, VAR corrects
Popovic gets the ball in his hand and ref Lambrechts firmly points to the spot. In Tubize the VAR corrects, the leather is placed outside the rectangle.
71′
VAR: Penalty denied
66′
Hugo Vetlesen is replaced by Casper Nielsen
65′
Antonio Nusa is replaced by Andreas Skov Olsen
64′
Yellow card for Raphael Onyedika
62′
Francis far over
Abu Francis, recently introduced, tries from a distance. The ball goes far over the Jackers goal.
61′
Felipe Augusto is replaced by Abu Francis
61′
Christiaan Ravych is replaced by Hugo Siquet
Muslic reshuffles his troops and switches to a three-man defense, with Siquet now as the right and Lopes as the left wingback.
56′
Michal Skóras is replaced by Ferran Jutglà
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Tags: Skov Olsen Club late point derby Cercle thanked goalkeeper Warleson goal frame Jupiler Pro League
