Club plays 1-1 draw at Anderlecht

The topper between Anderlecht and Club Brugge ended in a 1-1 draw. Mats Rits took early advantage of a miss by goalkeeper Van Crombrugge, but fifteen minutes before time, Raman equalized.

Club appeared at the kickoff with the same eleven that went on to stunt on the RB Leipzig pitch on Tuesday. The Bruges players came to the Lotto Park with confidence, but it was Anderlecht that got off to the best start. Thus, already in the opening minute Rits had to clear a ball just in front of Amuzu, while it also took a strong Hendry to stop Refaelov. Blauw-Zwart was immediately awakened and dealt two counterpunches: first Rits could not cash in on a clever combination and then a shot by Balanta went wide.

The Brugge side grew into the match and also took the lead on the quarter-hour mark, courtesy of Van Crombrugge. The goalkeeper defended sloppily and Mats Rits was able to take advantage of that to shoot the leather in from close range. Anderlecht immediately tried to respond, but Verschaeren twice missed the equalizer. In between, a header from Hoedt went wide, while Refaelov also failed to cash in on a deflection from Amuzu.

The home team had most of the ball possession, but Club occasionally tried razor-sharp crosses. Van Crombrugge had excellent saves on shots by Vanaken and Sowah. In between, Balanta's header hit the roof of the goal and Rits was unable to convert a good combination. At the other end, Murillo's shot went wide and, just before halftime, Harwood-Bellis and Zirkzee were unable to extend Refaelov's free kick.

After the break, the first chance was for Club, but De Ketelaere came a toe length too short to take a through pass from Vanaken. Anderlecht responded with a deflection by Refaelov and a shot by Verschaeren straight at Mignolet. Moments later, a shot by Verschaeren went over goal via Sobol's foot, while a header by Harwood-Bellis went wide. At the other end, Van Crombrugge had to pluck a header from Vanaken out of the air.

Halfway through the second half, both teams seemed to be running out of fuel. Anderlecht seemed unable to outplay Club, while the Bruggelingen controlled the game. An attempt by Sowah was blocked and a cross shot by Lang went wide. At the other end, a shot by Amuzu went wide. Yet a quarter of an hour before time, Blauw-Zwart had to concede the 1-1 draw: the newly-installed Benito Raman dived into Sobol's back and surprised Mignolet with a shot into the short corner.

The home team got extra energy from that equalizer, but Club kept control of the game. Five minutes before the end, Anderlecht had a good chance: Murillo appeared free in front of Mignolet, but the man from Limburg kept his nets clean. In the closing minutes, both teams seemed to be content with a point, so there were no more chances. With this draw, Club is now level with Union.

Jupiler Pro League - Day 10
Spectators: 20,000 - Lotto Park
Referee: Lawrence Visser
RSC Anderlecht: Hendrik Van Crombrugge - Amir Murillo, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Wesley Hoedt, Sergio Gomez - Josh Cullen, Kristoffer Olsson, Yari Verschaeren - Francis Amuzu (88' Anouar Ait El Hadj), Joshua Zirkzee (84' Majeed Ashimeru), Lior Refaelov (73' Benito Raman). Coach: Vincent Kompany.
Club Brugge: Simon Mignolet - Clinton Mata, Jack Hendry, Stanley Nsoki, Eduard Sobol - Mats Rits, Éder Balanta, Hans Vanaken - Kamal Sowah (65' Ruud Vormer), Charles De Ketelaere, Noa Lang (88' Ignace Van der Brempt). Bench: Senne Lammens, Nick Shinton, Wesley Moraes, Faitout Maouassa, Federico Ricca, Bas Dost, Brandon Mechele and Noah Mbamba. Coach: Philippe Clement.
Yellow cards: Sobol, Refaelov, Lang, Hoedt, Balanta, De Ketelaere.
Red cards: none
Goals: 15' Rits (0-1), 75' Raman (1-1).

Text: Steven Floin