The disappointment was immense at Anderlecht after their late defeat to Dinamo Zagreb. Despite putting in a strong performance, the Brussels side returned home empty-handed. The penalty awarded in the dying seconds remained a major talking point, with several players defending their teammate Oleg Reabciuk.
“We are obviously very disappointed,” Léo Pétrot said after the match. “We came to Zagreb to take all three points and did everything we could to achieve that. We played a good game, but ultimately, the result was missing.”
The French defender was frustrated that Anderlecht remain without a point in the Europa League after defeats against Lyon and Dinamo Zagreb. The late penalty only made the disappointment more bitter.
Following a sliding tackle by Reabciuk, the ball struck the Moldovan left-back's hand. After a VAR review, the referee pointed to the penalty spot. For his teammates, the decision was difficult to accept.
“How can we blame Oleg for that? We can't exactly cut his arms off, can we?” Pétrot reacted. “It's incredibly frustrating, but that's part of football.”
Andrew Omobamidele also questioned the decision. “It's obviously a controversial incident. Nowadays, everyone seems to have their own interpretation of handball decisions in the penalty area. With a tackle like that, it's almost impossible to avoid any contact with the ball. How was he supposed to keep his arms behind his back?”
Nevertheless, Anderlecht's defenders also took some positives from the match. The team demonstrated that it has sufficient quality and depth in the squad. Despite the numerous changes to the starting line-up, the team's performance remained strong, which the players believe is a sign that their hard work is beginning to pay off.
There is little time to dwell on the European disappointment. On Sunday, Anderlecht travel to Beerschot for a Belgian Cup fixture. The Brussels side will be looking to build on the positives from their performance in Zagreb and finally turn a convincing display into a positive result.
Source: © Internal source
