GAMES Anderlecht lost 4-2 at Club Brugge. Before the break the purple-and-white were completely blown away by the home side, who astonishingly led only 3-0 at halftime. After the interval Brugge suddenly eased off, which allowed Anderlecht back into the game: Hazard and Cvetkovic pulled it back to 3-2. In stoppage time Vermant finally sealed the win with a counter.
In the first half Anderlecht was outplayed by Club Brugge in every possible way and could (only) go into the break trailing 3-0. The gap in quality, speed and grit was simply too big for the visitors. Club Brugge themselves played well and at times looked like they were playing a FIFA match against the computer. Anderlecht came up short on all fronts and were lucky after only a few minutes when the ball was cleared off the line three times.
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Continue reading That proved to be a mere foretaste of what was to follow. Around the 15th minute a free Sabbe smashed a shot high into the net for 1-0. Coosemans kept Vanaken from making it 2-0, but shortly afterwards Stankovic headed in from a corner to make it 2-0. He easily outmuscled Degreef, something you can hardly blame the youngster for. The goal exemplified how effortlessly Brugge dominated Anderlecht in duels. When Tzolis was sent through alone in the 35th minute he beat Hey and slid the ball low into the net for 3-0. Anderlecht simply couldn't keep possession and were therefore harmless.
At halftime Bertaccini was replaced by Stroeykens. Thanks in part to Brugge's leniency Anderlecht produced a better second half. Brugge played more on cruise control and ten minutes after the break Hazard gave his team a bit of hope again, scoring 3-1 after Mignolet had parried a shot from Degreef.
In the 67th minute Anderlecht had another chance when Cvetkovic was denied by Mignolet; Stroeykens could only reach the rebound with his knee. Twenty minutes from time Taravel tried to change things by bringing on loanee Da Costa for Augustinsson. Brugge struck again through Seys, but Coosemans saved with a reflexive foot stop.
In the 90th minute Verschaeren played Cvetkovic in behind the defence. The Serbian striker finished neatly, one-on-one with Mignolet. Instead of a dramatic finish, however, Vermant wrapped things up on a Bruges counter. Although Anderlecht had come back to 3-2, there were moments when more was possible once Brugge dropped the tempo. Was Brugge really that good before the break, or was Anderlecht simply that poor? As so often, it was probably a bit of both.
This defeat is not yet a disaster for Anderlecht, but they will have to be at their very best in the upcoming matches against Gent, STVV and Mechelen, otherwise these play-offs will quickly count for very little. The last time Anderlecht beat Club Brugge in the play-offs was in 2018.
