Club Brugge secured a resounding 5-0 victory against Union on their own field. The game seemed decided at halftime after a great blast by Vanaken, a goal by Seys and a header by Vanaken again. In the closing stages, Tzolis and Forbs took care of the 5-0 final score. Thanks to this victory, Blauw-Zwart is four points ahead and can take its twentieth national title at KV Mechelen on Thursday!
Bruges' starting lineup underwent only one change compared to last week's match against STVV. Hugo Vetlesen returned from suspension and took his place in midfield again, at the expense of Cisse Sandra. Dani van den Heuvel remained in goal. The Bridge goalkeepers started the game in a swirling Jan Breydel full of enthusiasm. The first danger came from Tzolis, but the Greek curled the leather over goal. Moments later a shot by Tzolis was blocked and a corner kick created a double threat: a passed ball by Mechele was cleared just before the goal line and the rebound by Tresoldi was also blocked.
Union again defended very strongly, making it not easy for Club to find openings. After twenty minutes, Stanković headed a corner kick from Tzolis towards goal, but again a Brusseler intervened. Scoring goals against Union is far from evident, but after half an hour Hans Vanaken showed how it should be done. The Bruges captain got some space twenty meters from goal and popped the leather deliciously into the top corner. That goal gave Blauw-Zwart wings: first Forbs just could not serve Tzolis, but moments later the 2-0 was a fact. Forbs passed the ball perfectly into the path of Siquet and his cross ended up at the far post with Joaquin Seys, who finished in a controlled manner.
Union tried to react but got no further than a free kick from Zeneli, which was cleared by Van den Heuvel. Meanwhile, a whirling Club continued to counter with razor-sharp precision. First Vetlesen had a free shot opportunity, but his effort sailed over via Sykes. No worries, though, because just before halftime the score was still 3-0. Tzolis placed a corner kick on the head of Hans Vanaken, who headed the ball into the goal via the underside of the crossbar.
After the break, the visitors literally and figuratively tried to fight their way back into the match. Ordóñez fought a lot of bitter duels with his Ecuadorian compatriot Rodriguez. When the striker did get some space to shoot, the Club defender was just in the way. Biondic also tried twice, but first Van den Heuvel made a fine save and then his deflected shot hit the top of the crossbar.
Union continued to stubbornly look for a goal, but Club continued to defend superbly. For example, a shot by Schoofs was blocked and an attempt by Fuseini went over goal. Bruges lurked on the counter, but Forbs could not frame his shot and a rocket by Siquet also flew centimeters over the crossbar. At the other end, attempts by Niang and Sykes were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, the party in the stands continued and the roof went off twice more in the closing minutes. A few minutes before time, Spileers launched Tzolis. The Greek went off alone on goal, held off El Hadj and slid in the 4-0. Union then looked to score against through a clever turnover by Mac Allister, but the goal was disallowed for offside. In the absolute final seconds, Carlos Forbs finally made it 5-0. The Portuguese was played free by Tzolis and finished in a controlled manner. Thanks to this victory, Club Brugge is now four points ahead of Union. Next Thursday, Blauw-Zwart can clinch its twentieth national title by beating KV Mechelen!
Champions' Play-offs - Matchday 8
Spectators: 29,000 - Jan Breydelstadion
Referee: Lothar D'Hondt
Club Brugge: Dani van den Heuvel - Hugo Siquet (75' Jorne Spileers), Joel Ordóñez, Brandon Mechele, Joaquin Seys - Aleksandar Stanković (75' Raphael Onyedika), Hugo Vetlesen (62' Cisse Sandra), Hans Vanaken (84' Bjorn Meijer) - Carlos Forbs, Nicolò Tresoldi (75' Romeo Vermant), Christos Tzolis. Bench: Simon Mignolet, Gustaf Nilsson, Lynnt Audoor and Mamadou Diakhon. Coach: Ivan Leko.
Union Sint-Gillis: Kjell Scherpen - Kevin Mac Allister - Christian Burgess, Ross Sykes - Anan Khalaili, Adem Zorgane, Kamiel Van de Perrre (61' Rob Schoofs), Besfort Zeneli (78' Anouar Aït El Hadj), Guilherme Smith (46' Ousseynou Niang) - Mateo Biondic (61' Mohammed Fuseini), Kevin Rodriguez (88' Raul Fl. Coach: David Hubert.
Yellow cards: Sykes, Tzolis, Burgess.
Red cards: none
Goals: 31' Vanaken (1-0), 38' Seys (2-0), 45+1' Vanaken (3-0), 87' Tzolis (4-0), 90+4' Forbs (5-0).