Club Brugge did excellent business on Sunday afternoon in the hunt for the title. The team of trainer Alfred Schreuder was 4-1 too strong for direct competitor Royal Antwerp FC at home. After a horrific blunder by Simon Mignolet, Denis Odoi, Hans Vanaken, Sargis Adamyan and Andreas Skov Olsen turned the game around. Noa Lang started in the starting line-up, Ruud Vormer came in and Bas Dost stayed on the bench for ninety minutes. Due to the victory, Bruges distances itself from Antwerp and now has a gap of four points. The deficit on leader Union Sint-Gillis, which drew 0-0 against Eupen on Saturday, is seven points.
A big bloodletting prior to the game, as Schreuder could not have Charles De Ketelaere at his disposal. The midfielder suffered a painful fall during training and was not part of the selection. His place was taken by Adamyan. Eduard Sobol started on the reserve bench. The Ukrainian comes from an area that lies just between Crimea and Luhansk. Schreuder gave him the choice to play or not. Ten minutes before time he came in for Adamyan. The home team got off to a good start and screamed for a penalty after seven minutes. Mats Rits was hindered on a rebound from Adamyan, but saw referee Lawrence Visser wave it off.
Ooooh Mignolet! † What are you doing!? † Antwerp opens the lead against Club Brugge in a special way: 0-1! †#ZiggoSport #JupilerProLeague #ANTCLU pic.twitter.com/DHm0SV3moi
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) February 27, 2022
After half an hour of play, the visitors surprisingly took the lead. After a corner from the right side of the field, Simon Mignolet completely misjudged the ball. The goalkeeper seemed bothered by the sun and went under the ball, after which Michael Frey could easily finish with the head: 0-1. Schreuder’s team recovered quickly from the knock and tied the score again a minute later. After a measured cross from Skov Olsen, Odoi headed in from close range. Brugge then took over and won the game five minutes after the equalizer. Birger Verstraete threw himself in front of a shot by Tajon Buchanan and unfortunately got the ball against the hand. Vanaken saved the penalty kick: 2-1.
Bruges played a very strong first half and was only in trouble by the sun, which was partly responsible for the opening goal. Even after the break, it was the number two in the Pro League that called the shots. It led to the 3-1 after an hour of play, when the ball ended up at Adamyan with some fortune. The striker didn’t think twice and worked the ball behind Jean Butez with half an overhead kick. A few minutes later, the final score was determined by Skov Olsen. The attacker moved in from the right and made an effective effort into the short corner: 4-1. It marked Schreuder’s biggest victory since his arrival in Belgium. On Wednesday evening, Bruges will face KAA Gent in the semi-final of the cup. The first leg ended in a 0-1 victory.
Noa Lang played the entire match, but was unable to distinguish himself.