Club wins 0-2 at Seraing

Club Brugge secured a 0-2 victory on the Seraing field. Blauw-Zwart initially struggled to find openings on a very soggy pitch, but after the break Cyle Larin and Hans Vanaken provided the decision.

Club Brugge opened Wednesday's Champions League campaign with a handsome 1-0 win against Bayer Leverkusen. Next Tuesday already follows the next match in the Champions League against FC Porto and so Carl Hoefkens allowed no less than six players to rest. Thus Sylla, Meijer, Skov Olsen, Onyedika, Sowah and Jutglà disappeared from the starting lineup. Dedryck Boyata, Roman Yaremchuk and Cyle Larin were allowed to start for the first time for Blauw-Zwart, while Antonio Nusa, Éder Balanta and Eduard Sobol also appeared at the kickoff.

The Bruges players monopolized the ball from the opening minute, but the abundant rain continuously curdled the leather making smooth combination soccer impossible. Moreover, Seraing lumbered everything shut, so there was hardly any room to play soccer either. Club had no less than 85 percent ball possession during the first half, but it did not lead to many clear-cut chances. After ten minutes, a blast from Balanta disappeared over goal, and on the half-hour mark, Yaremchuk was also unable to frame his effort.

After the break Blauw-Zwart tried to put even more pressure, creating more space for the home team. Seraing was able to create some early danger. First Bernier curled the ball just wide of the far post, then Sissoko's shot whizzed just wide of the crossbar and finally Mignolet had to save Poaty's shot. A strong wake-up call for Club that immediately put things in order: Nusa intercepted the ball and tapped it to Yaremchuk. The Ukrainian served Cyle Larin, who kicked the 0-1 into the roof of the goal.

After that goal, Seraing did have to crawl out of its hedgehog position, which also created more space for Club. The 0-2 was immediately in the air. After a back pass from Sobol, Yaremchuk took one on goal, but his effort was blocked. Immediately after, a shot by Vanaken went over goal, but the best chance was for Larin. Vanaken launched the Canadian, but the striker kicked the leather just wide. The deserved 0-2 finally fell twenty minutes before time. The freshly substituted Skov Olsen tapped the ball to Yaremchuk and his deflected shot was kicked in from close range by Hans Vanaken. For the two-time Golden Shoe it was his 100th goal in the Jupiler Pro League.

The game was decided and Club could finish the match calmly to save strength for Tuesday's Champions League match in Porto. The best chance was for Hans Vanaken, who took a Larin cross on the slipper in one go. Dietsch saved, however, as did a shot by Sobol. It remained 0-2, bringing Club within two points of leader Antwerp.

Jupiler Pro League - Playday 8
Spectators: 5,000 - Stade du Pairay
Referee: Wesli De Cremer
RFC Seraing: Guillaume Dietsch - Abdoulaye Sylla, Christophe Lepoint, Marvin Tshibuabua - Daniel Opare (74' Simon Elisor), Abou Ba, Sambou Sissoko, Mathieu Cachbach (74' Sergio Conceiçao), Morgan Poaty (64' Leroy Abanda) - Marius Mouandilmadji (74' Sambu Mansoni), Antoine Bernier. Coach: José Jeunechamps.
Club Brugge: Simon Mignolet - Denis Odoi, Brandon Mechele, Dedryck Boyata - Antonio Nusa (66' Andreas Skov Olsen), Casper Nielsen, Éder Balanta (66' Raphael Onyedika), Hans Vanaken, Eduard Sobol - Cyle Larin (86' Kamal Sowah), Roman Yaremchuk (75' Ferran Jutglà). Bench: Senne Lammens, Kiany Vroman, Bjorn Meijer and Noah Mbamba. Coach: Carl Hoefkens.
Yellow cards: Larin, Nusa, Sissoko, Elisor, Ba, Sylla.
Red cards: none
Goals: 52' Larin (0-1), 69' Vanaken (0-2).