Having lost 2-1 in the first leg at Molde FK, Club knew the task ahead of them for the return game at Jan Breydel. On the stroke of half-time, Skov Olsen opened the scoring and bagged himself a brace shortly after the break, before Skóraś put the game to bed with a third. On to the quarter-finals!
Over the weekend, Club Brugge managed to secure a spot among the top six in the league, qualifying for the Champions' Play-offs, courtesy of a 3-1 home victory at the hands of OH Leuven. Several comebacks in coach Deila's outfit ahead of the Molde game: Mignolet returned between the sticks and Thiago was back from his injury as well, playing with Jutglà and Skov Olsen in a three-man attack. De Cuyper played as right full-back instead of Odoi, while Onyedika forced Nielsen on the bench.
With a score to settle after the first leg, Club claimed possession from the very first second. After three minutes De Cuyper linked up with Skov Olsen, but the latter was unable to get the ball to a team-mate and Vanaken was also unable to convert the resulting corner kick. The first real home threat came after ten minutes of play when Vanaken found Jutglà in front of goal but the Catalan's header lacked power to allow Petersen to save it easily. Mainly stuck to defensive work, the Norwegian visitors also had a glance at goal after a quarter of an hour when Linnes broke free from Jutglà, but his effort flew over the crossbar.
Jutglà was Club's most industrious forward in the opening stages, but he was unfortunate in front of goal. On the half-hour mark, Meijer scooped the ball inside the area, but the forward saw his header crash against the post. A few minutes later, Skov Olsen's strike went over. The hosts upped the tempo, but the tempo dropped again after ten minutes, until a few minutes before half-time when Vetlesen forced Petersen into making a diving save. When Jutglà picked out Meijer's run, he feeded the ball to the Dutchman who's first time low cross fell into the path of Skov Olsen and the Dane sidefooted the leather in goal to score that all-important opener.
The second half could not have started better for the hosts: Ordóñez first saw his header on De Cuyper's corner kick just flick past the post, but two minutes later on, a brilliant curl by Skov Olsen left Petersen stranded to double the home side's lead. Virtually qualified now, Club wanted more but Jutglà missed his header on a Vetlesen cross. With Club very much in control, a sturdy focus was needed to keep Molde at bay, as a good Molde free-kick evaded everyone before it went just wide.
A little scare for Club, but Skóraś put the game to bed minutes after being subbed on. Rushing goalbound, the Pole turned inside before unleashing an unstoppable left-footed strike inside the near corner: 3-0! The closing stages of the match saw a Vanaken strike from 25 meters out lacking power and Thiago drilling his effort just over.
Incapable of finding their way back into the game, Molde's only chance came through a desperate long-rane strike flying high over Mignolet's goal. Thanks to a Skov Olsen double and a fine Skóraś, Club qualifies for the Europa Conference League Round of 8!
UEFA Europa Conference League – Round of 16 (second leg)
Attendance: 13,000 – Jan Breydel Stadium
Referee: Mr. Radu Petrescu (ROE)
Molde FK: Oliver Petersen – Casper Øyvann, Anders Hagelskjær, Kristoffer Haugen – Martin Linnes, Markus André Kaasa, Mats Møller Dæhli, Eirik Hestad (84’ Gustav Nyheim), Mathias Fjørtoft Løvik (68’ Halldor Stenevik) – Fredrik Gulbrandsen, Veton Berisha (24’ Kristian Eriksen).
Bench: Jacob Karlstrøm, Halldor Stenevik, Kristian Eriksen, Johan Bakke, Niklas Ødegård, Leon Juberg-Hovland, Gustav Nyheim.
Coach: Erling Moe.
Club Brugge: Nordin Jackers – Maxim De Cuyper, Joel Ordóñez, Brandon Mechele, Bjorn Meijer (90+2’ Kyriani Sabbe) – Raphael Onyedika, Hugo Vetlesen (84’ Casper Nielsen), Hans Vanaken – Andreas Skov Olsen (67’ Michał Skóraś), Igor Thiago, Ferran Jutglà (84’ Antonio Nusa).
Bench: Nordin Jackers, Nick Shinton, Jorne Spileers, Denis Odoi, Kyriani Sabbe, Éder Balanta, Casper Nielsen, Antonio Nusa, Michał Skóraś, Victor Barberá.
Coach: Ronny Deila.
Yellow: Gulbrandsen, De Cuyper
Red: none
Goals: 45+1' Skov Olsen (1-0), 48' Skov Olsen (2-0), 70' Skóraś (3-0)
