Cercle Bruges
Club Brugge
- 32′ – Goal – Kevin Denkey (1 – 0)
- 56′ – Cont. Michal Skóras by Ferran Jutgla
- 61′ – Cont. Christiaan Ravych by Hugo Siquet
- 61′ – Cont. Felipe Augusto by Abu Francis
- 64′ – Yellow – Raphael Onyedika
- 65′ – Cont. Antonio Nusa by Andreas Skov Olsen
- 66′ – Cont. Hugo Vetlesen by Casper Nielsen
- 73′ – Cont. Alan Minda by Félix Lemaréchal
- 78′ – Cont. Bjorn Meijer by Maxim De Cuyper
- 83′ – Goal – Andreas Skov Olsen (1 – 1)
- 90+5′ – Cont. Kevin Denkey by Kazeem Olaigbe
Jupiler Pro League – matchday 1 – 01/04/24 – 13:31
| time | icon | player | homeTime | homeIcon | homePlayer | score | awayPlayer | awayIcon | awayTime |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32′ | Kevin Denkey | 32′ | Kevin Denkey | 1 – 0 | |||||
| 83′ | Andreas Skov Olsen | 1 – 1 | Andreas Skov Olsen | 83′ |
The Bruges teams shared the points in their first match in the Champions’ Play-offs. And they both gain little or nothing from that. Blue and Black in particular had plenty of opportunities after half-time, but Warleson’s goal seemed bewitched. Until substitute Skov Olsen shook the net. He erased sharpshooter Kevin Denkey’s opening goal.
Cercle Brugge – Club Brugge in a nutshell:
- Key moment: Club completely pushed Cercle away in the second half, but could not get the ball into the goal. Until substitute Skov Olsen is free and slides the ball into the goal, the Dane gives his team a deserved point.
- Man of the match: Not for the first time this season, Warleson stands out in a Bruges derby. Cercle’s goalkeeper was hit by a storm in the second half and held his own, but he had no chance of scoring an equalizer. On the blue-black side, Jutglà deserves a compliment for his strong performance.
- Remarkable: A draw is gradually becoming a classic between Cercle and Club. It has been since 2022 since there was a winner, when it was 4-0 for Club. That was Roman Jaremchuk’s debut at Club, it seems like a distant memory.
Strong Cercle rewards itself in the first half
Cercle Brugge against Club Brugge, Nicky Hayen immediately got a derby to start his career at Club. He could not count on Skov Olsen at the start, De Cuyper was also on the bench.
The coach undoubtedly knew in advance that it was not easy to play football against Cercle. The home team went all out and caused Club problems with their high pressure.
After 10 minutes this also resulted in a huge chance for top scorer Kevin Denkey. The Togolese appeared alone for Jackers, but hesitated for too long, allowing the goalkeeper to intervene.
The signal for Club to wake up. On a corner kick, Ordonez kicked over from close range, Nusa’s shot was parried by Warleson.
Cercle remained stronger on the field, and eventually the Association also took the lead. Utkus went all out on a free kick, hit the ball completely wrong and gave a perfect assist for Denkey. The striker could no longer miss and already scored his 24th of the season.
Siege of Club only results in one goal
So much for Cercle’s threat, because after that it was Club that did the talking.
Thiago was often sent to the flanks and found Nusa before half time, who scored through a defender. Unfortunately for the young Norwegian, his Brazilian teammate was offside, so Cercle went to rest with a lead.
What happened after the break defied all imagination.
Club came out of the changing rooms razor sharp and created chance after chance. Nusa aimed at Warleson and the post in the same phase, the replay was incomprehensibly aimed at a defender on the line by Skoras.
Nusa continued to bombard Cercle with good actions and was unlucky that his new attempt via Warleson again ended up against the post. Club finally seemed to get what it deserved when referee Lambrechts put the ball on the spot.
Popovic touched the ball with his hand, but the VAR correctly saw that the defender was outside the penalty area. So it was a free kick, and Vanaken aimed it hard at the crossbar. Jutglà also made himself noticed and aimed at Warleson.
Just when Cercle seemed to have survived the storm, Club still struck through its substitutes.
De Cuyper found Jutglà, who put it back to Skov Olsen. The Dane did not free Club for the first time this season with a good slider.
In the end, blue and black were still looking for the winning goal, but headers from Thiago and Nielsen were not successful. So Cercle can still be satisfied with a point, after a match with two faces.
Club will be disappointed by the many missed opportunities, but will leapfrog Antwerp to third place. Next week, blue-black will have the opportunity to reduce the gap to Anderlecht.
Reactions after Cercle Brugge – Club Brugge:
- Thibo Somers: “Based on the first half, we went all out for the win. In the second half we were unrecognizable, we couldn’t make it out. That was also Club’s merit, in the end we can be satisfied with a point. If you Our system does not come into your game, it is very difficult. We can work on that in the coming weeks. I hope we can end the season on a good note.”
- Hans Vanaken: “There was more to it, especially in the second half. We were much better, always found the right man. Then you are relieved that another one goes in, but on the other hand we have to score more. The difference between the two halves was that we gave Cercle too much opportunity to apply pressure in the first half by simply losing the ball. That was much better in the second, we found space with Nusa and Jutglà. Sunday is a new opportunity, hopefully we can beat Anderlecht .”
- Hannes Van Der Bruggen: “It would have been great to win, but given the match we can be happy with 1-1. In the first half we were really good and we were regularly threatening, after that it was sink or sink. We then had a few I was lucky that they didn’t finish sharply and that Warleson had another good game. The problem was that we didn’t have a second of rest with the ball. Because we couldn’t keep up with the ball, we were often swimming. I would have liked to see us do something were higher, they found the free man too easily.”
- Denis Odoiwho was replaced at halftime with what seemed like a nasty injury: “We’ll see tomorrow how the knee is, I just overextended it. We certainly had plenty of chances to win today, especially in the second half, we have to focus on that performance. We have not rewarded ourselves enough on both an offensive and defensive level. We will discuss the goal against in the dressing room, where agreements were not adhered to.”
- Miron Muslic: “Everything is always deserved after 95 minutes. Although I think we were lucky today, Club had many chances. There were also good moments, especially in the first half. In the second we lost the intensity, structure and courage after the substitutions. It is also against the best teams that we are playing now, so we have to push our limits to survive and perform. I feel no regret that we lose 2 points, we have to honestly admit that this is a point with luck. You must respect the quality of the neighbors, they were strong. But we can be proud that we have not lost against them three times this season.”
Phase by phase
End: Club saves a point in an unlikely second half
Thiago hits another ball wildly wide, so this derby ends at 1-1. Club showed a lot of willpower in this second half, but needed a lot to score. Ultimately, Skov Olsen provided the liberating equalizer, but a winning goal was no longer possible. Cercle was no longer able to do anything in the second half.
Ordonez, who played a much stronger second half, relapses into his problem of the first half and simply surrenders to Lemaréchal. Fortunately for Ordonez, the batteries are empty with the rest of Cercle, the counter will not work.
Warleson keeps Cercle straight
Soon the winning goal falls out of the sky for Nielsen. Close to goal, the ball suddenly falls on his head, but the powerful header is knocked out of goal by Warleson.
5 – extra time
An extra 5 minutes will be added.
Cercle really doesn’t accomplish anything in this second half. With a rare opportunity to break out, Denkey simply plays into an opponent.
Thiago climbs high
Club is going all out for the win. Thiago once again jumps strongly towards a cross, this time he has a good header, but he does so just wide of the target via Daland. Cercle continues to suffer.
Igor Thiago is also participating. The striker dives with dedication to a high cross, but cannot make sufficient decisions towards the goal.
The goal counts, Club deservedly comes alongside. Hayen immediately fires up his men, is there more to it?
Then Skov Olsen!
This couldn’t last. De Cuyper and Jutglà release Skov Olsen well, but Warleson cannot catch his slider to the second post. Although the VAR is again looking for possible offside by Nielsen, who may have been in the path of the shot.
Jutgla on Warleson
Jutglà has come in sharply. The Spaniard breaks free and fires a shot into the short corner. Warleson has another great day against Club and is once again in the way.
Can Skov Olsen bring his team to the same level?
Skov Olsen blocked
Club keeps coming. De Cuyper shows himself with a nice ball for Jutglà, who blindly puts it back to Skov Olsen. We have already managed to do it better from the edge of the sixteen, the wing attacker steps on a defender without conviction.
The next option is for Casper Nielsen. The midfielder heads over. In the meantime, De Cuyper gets another fifteen minutes in Meijer’s place.
