Club suffers 0-2 defeat at the hands of Benfica

An outstanding run in the Champions League took Club Brugge to the Round of 16, where it met with Portuguese powerhouse Benfica. After last night's 0-2 defeat, Club will need a miracle to make it to the Round of 8 on March 7 in Lisbon.

A historic night for Blue & Black as it took on Benfica in the Champions League Round of 16. Two changes were made to the team that had drawn against Union on Friday: in midfield, Denis Odoi took over from Mats Rits, while up front Roman Yaremchuk made way for Kamal Sowah, taking charge of the right wing, with Noa Lang as a false nine in front of him. Benfica had made quite the mark in the group stages, topping its group with PSG and Juventus, and was eager to show its mastery against Club from the first whistle, leading to an early heading opportunity for Gonçalo Ramos, eagerly neutralised by Mignolet.

Not taken aback by this early pressure, Club also appeared in fine mood. An excellent long ball by Meijer put Buchanan through on the left, rushing past all opposition, but from an acute corner, he aimed straight at goalie Vlachodimos. An industrious Noa Lang then made his way with some fancy footwork through the Portuguese defense, but his shot sailed high over. Another fine chance came after fifteen minutes of play, as Vanaken came just short of tapping in Meijer's low cross, and Lang saw his shot blocked in the rebound.

Halfway through the first half, Club was forced to shift gears, and the visitors started rushing forward, leading to a handful of good opportunities. First Ramos was unable to get his foot against a sharp cross, an Aursnes attempt went wide, and Sowah's deviation went over his own goal. The Benfica machine now really started going, with another header, this time by Antonio Silva, going over, and Rafa Silva first hitting the post and later on meeting with Mignolet. Anothe chance for Gonçalo Ramos went missing as he was unable to frame his header. Club's defense did not falter, however, and to the delight of the Bruges fans the hosts even opened the score. The joy was short-lived, however, as Odoi's header upon a Lang free kick was cancelled out due to off-side.

Fresh back on the pitch, Benfica again started knitting its way towards Club's goal. A first threat from Gonçalo Ramos went past as he deviated a free kick, but the visiting fans needn't worry. Moments later the ref pointed towards the spot after Hendry timed his tackle too late, bringing down Ramos inside the box. Simon Mignolet had his hands tot the ensuing penalty kick by Joao Mario, but the ball still went in off the crossbar.

Quite the setback for the hosts, who had stood their ground neatly until then. Benfica now lifted the foot from the throttle, but this did not exactly lead from more offensive endeavours by Club. Combination play nearly always ended in the final third: among others, Sowah tried a fine cross, but without success. A corner kick by Lang was also cleared just before the goal line, while Chiquinho's effort sailed over off a Bruges leg.

With Nielsen and Jutglà, Scott Parker threw two more irons in the fire, but without avail, as Benfica doubled its lead with minutes on the clock. Joao Mario first saw his effort going wide, but ball loss by Meijer sent David Neres through on goal, brushing in the 0-2 past a hapless Mignolet. A second goal by the Brazilian was cancelled out due to off-side, while a long range effort by Guedes sailed wide. 0-2 it was, making the task at hand so much more difficult.

Champions League – Round of 16 (1st leg)
Audience: 29,000 – Jan Breydel Stadium
Ref: Mr. Davide Massa (Ita)
Club Brugge: Simon Mignolet – Clinton Mata, Jack Hendry, Brandon Mechele, Bjorn Meijer – Denis Odoi (65’ Casper Nielsen), Raphael Onyedika, Hans Vanaken – Kamal Sowah (79’ Ferran Jutglà), Noa Lang, Tajon Buchanan. Bench: Josef Bursik, Mats Rits, Dedryck Boyata, Antonio Nusa, Roman Yaremchuk, Abakar Sylla and Cisse Sandra. Coach: Scott Parker.
SL Benfica: Odisseas Vlachodimos – Alexander Bah, Antonio Silva, Nicolas Otamendi, Alejandro Grimaldo – Joao Mario (92’ Joao Neves), Chiquinho, Rafa Silva (65’ David Neres), Florentino Luis, Fredrik Aursnes – Gonçalo Ramos (65’ Gonçalo Guedes). Coach: Roger Schmidt.
Yellow: Odoi, Sowah, Otamendi.
Red: none.
Goals: 51’ Joao Mario (penalty, 0-1), 88’ Neres (0-2).