Club Brugge secured a hard-fought 2-0 victory against FC Lugano on their own field and are therefore sure of a place in the Conference League. Igor Thiago kicked Blauw-Zwart into the lead after an hour from the spot and in the final seconds Hans Vanaken provided the final decision with a deviated free kick.
Ronny Deila shook up the team that lost Sunday against Union. At the back, Joel Ordóñez was given preference over Jorne Spileers, while on the flanks Tajon Buchanan and Maxim De Cuyper replaced Odoi and Meijer. In midfield, Raphael Onyedika and Hugo Vetlesen replaced Balanta and Nielsen. In the center of the striker, Deila opted for Igor Thiago, at the expense of Ferran Jutglà. Since Beşiktaş lost on their own field to Bodø/Glimt, Club could be sure of victory in the Conference League if they won.
The Bridge side clearly lacked confidence and got off to a hesitant start. After a corner kick by Skov Olsen, Buchanan headed the ball back in front of goal, but Mechele was too surprised to capitalize. Moments later, Buchanan made it to the back line, but his cross was just cleared. A cracked shot by Skov Olsen and a cross from De Cuyper to Thiago also failed to produce a concrete goal threat.
It took until the half-hour mark before the game really broke open. A siege of the Swiss goal ended with a shot by Zinckernagel that went just wide via a visiting leg. Moments later, Vanaken deviated a cross from Zinckernagel via a defender wide, while Skov Olsen curled the leather over the top corner and Thiago saw a hard shot fly just over the crossbar. The best chance came just before halftime: Vanaken passed the ball to Zinckernagel, who cut inside but his shot was saved by goalkeeper Saipi. The only thing Lugano could do in return was a header from Marques that flew straight at Mignolet.
Skov Olsen remained in the locker room and was replaced by Ferran Jutglà after halftime. The Catalan had a good chance after just a few minutes: after the Swiss lost the ball, he tried to lob the goalkeeper, but he was just able to pluck the leather out of the air. At the other end, a shot by Cimignani went over goal. Club continued to camp in Lugano's half and, after an hour, got what they deserved. Buchanan stormed towards goal like an express train, but was brought down in the sixteen meters and Hungarian ref Bognár pointed to the spot. Igor Thiago kicked the ball into the left corner to give Club the lead.
Twenty minutes before time, the Brazilian had the chance to put the match in a final fold, but his place ball was swept away just before the goal line. So it remained exciting, leaving the Swiss believing in their chances. Bislimi suddenly found himself free in the penalty area, but his shot was blocked. Immediately afterwards, Mignolet had to save a rocket from Espinoza.
The visitors got no further than that. It was Blauw-Zwart that failed to score the 2-0. Jutglà could only pass on the left, but his shot went just wide. A few minutes later the Spaniard was brought down in the sixteen meters, so the Hungarian ref again pointed to the spot. Jutglà took responsibility himself, but popped the 11th meter wide. The striker proved very unfortunate in his finishing, because shortly afterwards he also failed to cash in on a Zinckernagel cross. Deep into injury time the 2-0 finally came. Vanaken's free kick deflected off the wall and into the goal. A hard-fought but well-deserved victory, as a result of which Club Brugge is certain of winning the Conference League after four match days.
UEFA Europa Conference League - Playday 4
Spectators: 20,000 - Jan Breydelstadion
Referee: Tamás Bognár (Hon)
Club Brugge: Simon Mignolet - Tajon Buchanan (89' Denis Odoi), Joel Ordóñez, Brandon Mechele, Maxim De Cuyper - Hugo Vetlesen (89' Éder Balanta), Raphael Onyedika, Hans Vanaken - Andreas Skov Olsen (46' Ferran Jutglà), Igor Thiago (77' Bjorn Meijer), Philip Zinckernagel (93' Michał Skóraś). Bench: Nordin Jackers, Casper Nielsen, Victor Barbera, Dedryck Boyata and Shion Homma. Coach: Ronny Deila.
FC Lugano: Amir Saipi - Allan Arigoni, Lars Lukas Mai, Kreshnik Hajrizi (71' Roman Macek), Albian Hajdari - Mohamed Mahmoud (71' Boris Babic), Jonathan Sabbatini, Uran Bislimi (89' Ayman El Wafi) - Renato Steffen, Yanis Cimignani, Martim Marques (46' Jhon Espinoza). Coach: Mattia Croci Torti.
Yellow cards: Marques, Mahmoud, Thiago, Vanaken, Steffen, Sabbatini, El Wafi.
Red cards: none
Goals: 62' Thiago (penalty, 1-0), 96' Vanaken (2-0).
