Anderlecht take one point in Bruges

GAMES Anderlecht took one point in Bruges yesterday, but it gave away the victory in the very last minute of the match. The game ended in a 2-2 draw, which was actually a logical result. Anderlecht remain third in the Champions Play-offs.

The first half was a tactical one with both teams putting high pressure on their opponents. It resulted in just a few chances, most of them shots from distance. Lang, Dost and Vormer made attempts for Bruges, while Nmecha probably had the best chance of the first half but his attempt to lift the ball over goalkeeper Mignolet went over.

The second half started with a quick goal of the home side: Anderlecht lost the ball on the midfield and a fast attack, with Dost and Lang, was finished by Lang: 1-0. Anderlecht needed a while to recover from this blow and almost conceded a second goal, but Denswill's header struck the post. Anderlecht immediately counter attacked but Amuzu's last pass to El Hadj was weak and and excellent chance was wasted. 

After 64 minutes, Anderlecht scored in the same way Bruges had done earlier: Bruun Larsen took advantage of a defensive mistake, opened for Nmecha and the striker placed the ball in the bottom right corner: 1-1. Minutes later, Anderlecht even came close to scoring the 1-2, but Bruun Larsen's effort was cleared from the line by Mats Rits.

Both sides were now going for a win. Van der Brempt's shot missed the target by half a meter and Mitrovic was too hasty to place the ball against the net for Bruges. Anderlecht relied on fast attacks over the wing through Amuzu, but the last pass was often not good enough. One of these fast attacks led to a free kick when Amuzu was brought down by Vanaken. Bruun Larsen took the free kick and scored a beautiful goal in the upper right corner: 1-2 with just 4 minutes left. 

But the match remained very open in those last few minutes and Bruges quickly equalised. Anderlecht lost a few battles on the midfield and Cobbaut was unable to return to his place in the defense due to muscle cramps. This lead to a good Brugian combination and Dost scored with a well aimed shot between Miazga's legs: 2-2. 

In extra time, Amuzu came close to scoring the winning goal, but also Dost had a perfect chance for Bruges. Both were missed, so the match ended in a draw.