Club goes down 4-1 at Manchester City

Club Brugge suffered a 4-1 defeat in the Champions League at the Manchester City pitch. Blue-Black went behind after 15 minutes after a goal by Foden, but was able to equalize immediately thanks to an owngoal by Stones. Club then held out for a long time, but eventually lost out after goals from Mahrez, Sterling and Jesus.

Philippe Clement made two changes to the team that started Saturday's game against Sint-Truiden. Stanley Nsoki - still suspended at Stayen - joined Mechele and Hendry at the back, while in midfield Mats Rits took the place of the suspended Éder Balanta. Up front, Noa Lang and Charles De Ketelaere had to provide danger. Bas Dost had to make do with a place on the bench. For the home team, red devil Kevin De Bruyne also started on the bench.

Man City demanded the ball from the opening minute, forcing the Bruges players completely back into their own half. After a deflected shot by Bernardo Silva and an unsuccessful volley by Sobol, a siege of the Bruges goal suddenly followed on the quarter-hour mark. A deflected shot by Cancelo reached Gündogan at the far post, but he headed into the side-netting from close range. Cancelo then curled the ball against the far post, while Mignolet made a fine save on a shot by Foden. Immediately afterwards, Foden tapped in a low cross from Cancelo.

Blue-Black did not let themselves be impressed and reacted immediately: Ederson first parried a shot by Vanaken, but then a cross from De Ketelaere via Silva and Jones caprized into his own goal. That goal gave the Bruges fans extra confidence, while City found no more openings in the Bruges organization. On the other hand, it was Club that played two more good chances together before half-time: Ederson saved a header from Hendry and then went well flat on a hard blast from De Ketelaere. At the other end, Rits was able to clear a cross from Walker just in front of Gündogan.

After the break, the English immediately pushed the gas pedal firmly. Mignolet saved Mahrez's shot, while Cancelo's shot sailed just over the cross. Moments later, Mignolet caught a header from Stones and a wild shot from Foden went over and wide. After ten minutes in the second half, Club was still able to get out from under the pressure: De Ketelaere took a deep ball well, but could not frame the leather.

Just when Bruges seemed to regain the balance, Manchester City struck mercilessly. Cancelo curled the ball towards the far post, where Riyad Mahrez headed in the 2-1. Moments later, Gündogan was unable to cash in on two attempts, while at the other end a shot by Vanaken was blocked. Club looked for another equalizer, but it was the home side who were able to score. Gündogan went through on the left and dished the 3-1 to substitute Raheem Sterling.

In the closing stages, De Bruyne could not frame his effort, while Mignolet made saves on shots by Palmer and Jesus. Hans Vanaken saw another shot blocked, while Mechele was able to clear it just in front of Palmer. In the final seconds, Gabriel Jesus scored 4-1 when he headed the ball across.

Champions League: Group A - match day 4
Spectators: 53.000 - Etihad Stadium
Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spa)
Manchester City: Ederson - Kyle Walker (80' Oleksandr Zinchenko), John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, João Cancelo - Ilkay Gündogan, Rodri, Bernardo Silva (75' Kevin De Bruyne) - Riyad Mahrez (68' Raheem Sterling), Phil Foden (80' Cole Palmer), Jack Grealish (68' Gabriel Jesus). Coach: Pep Guardiola.
Club Brugge: Simon Mignolet - Clinton Mata (78' Ignace Van der Brempt), Jack Hendry, Brandon Mechele, Stanley Nsoki, Eduard Sobol (73' Federico Ricca) - Ruud Vormer, Mats Rits (78' Noah Mbamba), Hans Vanaken - Noa Lang (78' Bas Dost), Charles De Ketelaere (87' Kamal Sowah). Bench: Senne Lammens, Wesley Moraes, Faitout Maouassa and José Izquierdo. Coach: Philippe Clement.
Yellow cards: none
Red cards: none
Goals: 15' Foden (1-0), 17' Stones (owngoal, 1-1), 54' Mahrez (2-1), 72' Sterling (3-1), 92' Jesus (4-1).

Text: Steven Floin