Ever since last week's draw at Jan Breydel, many a Club fan has been eager for tonight's encounter at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano as Club will be taking on Atlético de Madrid in the second leg of the UCL PO's, game to be kicked off at 18h45. Find out all you need to know about this nerve racker in our Club Facts.
THE FIXTURE
On Monday, Club Brugge made its way to the Spanish capital where it will be entertaining locals Atlético de Madrid. For the 35th time, Club will be meeting up with Spanish opposition. With 12 UCL campaigns so far, Club Brugge is outdone slightly by Atlético de Madrid, currently in its 16th campaign. The UEFA ranking shows Atlético in 13th place with 95,250 points, with Club just a few places behind with 75,250 points.
It will be the tenth encounter between the two teams, making the Rojiblancos the team Club Brugge has been set up with in Europe the most. For Atlético de Madrid, only FC Porto, city rivals Real Madrid and Juventus outdo Club Brugge with respect to encounters against Atléti.
Club is proving a scourge for Atlético, with the Spaniards without a win in the past four encounters (3D 1L). The only opponent against whom Atlético has an even worse recent record in UCL & Europacup I, is Real Madrid (6 games).
On four earlier occasions, Club has travelled to Atlético. A first time in 1977-78 at the occasion of the then Europacup I, as Club suffed a 3-2 defeat in Madrid, goals courtesy of Julien Cools and Raoul Lambert. Thanks to a 2-0 win in the second leg, Club then made it to the Semi Finals, and even later on to the Final at Wembley, where it los 1-0 to Liverpool FC.
A second time was back in 1991-92 as Club met with Atlético in the Cup Winners' Cup Quarter Finals. Once again Club conceded a 3-2 loss at Madrid, which it also again overcame after a 2-1 home win. Goals in Madrid came from Claude Verspaille and Luc Beyens. A third meeting in Madrid was in the 2018-19 Champions League Group Stages, as Club suffered a 3-1 defeat, despite a smashing goal by Danjuma.
The CL Group Stages once again set the stage for the final encounter in Madrid, as the game in 2022-2023 ended in a goalless draw at the Metropolitano, as a spirited Mignolet performance helped Club to the Knock out stages of the UEFA Champions League for the very first time.
For the 17th time in Club history, Club Brugge will be manning Spanish soil resulting in a 9L 6D 1W record. That one win was also on the last time Club headed for Spain as it beat CA Osasuna in August 2023 (1-2).
With seven games against Belgian opposition so far, Atlético de Madrid earned six wins and one draw, Club Brugge the only team to keep Atléti at bay (0-0).
A spectacular first leg ended in a 3-3 draw just one week ago. The score was opened from the spot through Julián Álvarez just eight minutes into the game, and despite an impressive first half performance, Club was trailing 0-2 at half time as new signing Ademola Lookman fumbled it in just before the break. The score was in balance soon after as Raphael Onyedika and Nicolò Tresoldi made it 2-2, but an unfortunate touch to the ball by Ordonez allowed Atlético to take the lead again, only to see it overturned by an injury time equaliser by Christos Tzolis, helping Club to an unbowed home run of five against Atlético (3 wins, 2 draws).
Quite the stat at Club: ten UCL goals this season have been scored by players aged 21 or younger: 3x Nicolò Tresoldi, 2x Mamadou Diakhon, 2x Carlos Forbs, 2x Aleksandar Stanković and 1x Romeo Vermant.
A landmark game for Hans Vanaken, as he will be featuring on the European stage for Club for the 100th time. It all started in a UCL prelim against Panathinaikos (2-1 defeat). Our skipper scored 24 in 99 Eureopean games, assisting 12. Those 24 goals make him the most prolific player in Club history. Striking: he is yet to miss out on a UCL game in eight campaigns featuring Club Brugge.
No Raphael Onyedika on Tuesday, out suspended. In order to avoid suspension, Hans Vanaken also needs to tread carefully.
A draw in tonight's game leads to penalty shootouts. On four earlier occasions, Club Brugge went through those all-deciding penalty kicks, and is still without a fault. The last time was in the 2009-10 Europa League play-offs as it ousted Polish KKS Lech Poznan (4-3). In 7 earlier encounters ending in shootouts, Atlético Madrid only managed to come out on top on three occasions.
The winner of this game will be taking on English opposition in the UCL Round of 16. The draw on Friday will decide whether this will be Tottenham Hotspur FC or Liverpool FC.
THE FIXTURE
Founded on 26 April 1903, Atlético de Madrid's prize cabinet features 11 league titles (most recently in 2021) and 10 Spanish Cups. The European stage has also brought glory to the team, with 3 UEFA Europa League wins, one Europacup II and three UEFA Super Cups. 25 match days into the season, Atlético is in fourth place in La Liga.
The impressive Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium harbours 70,692 fans, and hosted the 2019 UCL Final between Liverpool and Tottenham). The Stadium will also be the venue for the 2027 Final.
Argentinian legend Diego Simeone is still at the helm in Madrid, and this for a 15th consecutive season. Under his reign, the team has won seven prizes. Simeone will not be unfamiliar with the Belgian side, as his Atlético will be crossing swords with Club Brugge for the fifth time with him as T1.
Julián Álvarez is the most productive player at Madrid, holding the most goal involvements.
MILESTONES
Mamadou Diakhon is up for a 30th appearance at Club.
Possibly a 30th European game for Kyriani Sabbe.
For Christos Tzolis, this could be the 25th time in Europe while at FCB.
THE MAN IN BLACK
A French referee has been appointed for tonight's clash: Mr. Clément Turpin will be assisted by his compatriots Mr. Nicolas Danos and Mr. Benjamin Pagès, while Mr. Éric Wattelier will be fourth official. In charge of VAR will be Mr. Jérôme Brisard, backed by a Dutchman, Mr. Pol van Boekel.
Mr. Turpin, a 43 year old UEFA elite ref, comes with a wealth of experience, with 18 years at the highest level in France, and appearances in Europe since 2010. This will be the second time he is in charge of a European game featuring Club Brugge, after he also handled the whistle in the 2014 UEL preliminaries between Grasshoppers Zürich and Club Brugge.
The Frenchman was also offered a number of games in the past two World Cups (2018, 2022) and in the last three Euros (2016, 2021, 2024). He was also the man in charge of the 2022 Champions League Final between Liverpool and Real Madrid and the 2021 Europa League Final betwen Villareal and Manchester United.