GAMES Anderlecht won 3-0 against Cercle Brugge and it owes that mainly to Coosemans and to a lack of efficiency by Cercle which missed several good chances. Paarswit did get a quick lead through Vazquez but it swerved across the field after that. Only in the closing stages did Adryelson and Huerta thicken the score for a poor Anderlecht that dragged itself to the end of the competition.
Anderlecht put Cercle under pressure from the start and the first corner immediately resulted in the 1-0 from Vazquez who extended a header from Dendoncker. But Anderlecht took a lot of gas after the 1-0. Ageykum came close to an equalizer, but Coosemans was able to save with some luck. And Coosemans was still needed in the first half, as he also saved a deviation by Vertonghen and a dangerous breakaway shot by Van Der Bruggen.
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Continue reading Cercle was more dangerous than Anderlecht, which was unable to build on its early lead. Anderlecht lost many duels and played too sloppy or slow at certain moments to create any danger. Hey, who did play well in midfield, also had to prevent the 1-1 in extra time.
Anderlecht started the second half as often very weak. It escaped the equalizer in minute 51 thanks to an admittedly correct intervention by VAR. Anderlecht plowed and toiled like an old tractor, while Cercle missed several chances or saw Coosemans in the way.
One of the few plus points tonight were Anderlecht's good corners. In minute 86, Adryelson doubled the score via a clever volley that deflected slightly off the head of a Cercle player. In added time, substitute Huerta even made it 3-0. After a one-two with Ashimeru, the Mexican popped high into goal.
Despite the big win, it was a disappointing performance by Anderlecht, which also has a serious problem on the right flank. After the loss of Sardella and the departure of Dreyer, no valid alternatives remain. Foket has dropped out completely and Degreef can also play on the right, but he too needs to bring more regularity to his performance. We shouldn't expect too much from Angulo and Maamar, they were eventually glorified by the Futures who dangle at the bottom of the Challenger Pro League.
Anderlecht does make an excellent case in the standings, though, due to the points loss of some of its rivals.
