GAMES In his first match in charge of Anderlecht from the bench, Vitor Bruno experienced a mixed evening in Stockholm. His side seemed for a long time to be on course for a promising victory, until Nathan Saliba's dismissal and a late Hammarby equaliser still spoiled the party. After the match, Bruno made no attempt to hide his frustration: “I'm mainly disappointed. Even with ten men, we had everything under control, but that avoidable goal still goes in.” The Portuguese coach did want to stress the collective performance: “I'm very proud of what we showed after barely five weeks of preparation, against the second-placed team in Sweden.” On the footballing side, Bruno acknowledged that his side found things difficult after the opening goal: “After our 1-0, we struggled with their build-up play.
And the yellow card for Augustinsson forced me to intervene.” Still, he was satisfied with the energy and mentality of his group: “A lot of power, a lot of energy. The mentality was top-class. We could even have scored more.” Bruno also singled out his young wingers, both 17 years old: “I played them because they simply have a lot of quality. And others will get their chance too, like Kalonji or Ojea. With me, the best players play.” Without wanting to “complain too much,”
Bruno nonetheless voiced his displeasure at the refereeing decision: “I've looked at the footage again: that second yellow card is not clear.” He therefore regrets having to do without Saliba in the return leg, but refuses to make a drama of it: “That's a pity, but we're not going to cry. We have enough players to get it done for our fans.”
Source: © Internal source
