Philippe Clement: "Going to Rome next week already dreaming"

Club Brugge played a dyke of a match and took a deserved 3-0 win against Zenit. Blauw-Zwart never got into trouble and won on their own pitch in the Champions League for the first time since 2005. Philippe Clement was therefore very proud of his team.

"Whether this was the perfect match? Perfection does not exist, but I am satisfied with a lot of things. First and foremost about the efficiency, because winning 3-0 in the Champions League is very handsome. Moreover, I am also happy with my team's compact play and smooth ball circulation. I want to see a team that plays dominantly, that wants the ball and goes all out for it. And they all showed that today. I estimated that win at Zenit higher than my two titles with Genk and Club. It is difficult to compare with this match, but today was an even better performance than in Zenit. Just a pity there were no supporters there. I experienced it myself during my playing career against Galatasaray. Then we won 3-1 at home and the stands were roaring. That was not the case now and that is very unfortunate."

Charles De Ketelaere started as a center striker and fulfilled that role superbly. The young Bruges player brought Club into the lead and also forced a penalty kick. "Charles has already played a very important role in our Champions League campaign anyway. At Zenit he was important as a second striker, at Dortmund he did an excellent job as a left back and today as a deep striker. He has been decisive many times, but it comes down to keep working from. You always want such a player to play, but it's also a matter of giving him a rest in time. That is a big responsibility for me. There are often great talents that surface, but then they get burned out. The nice thing with Charles is that it is a good cooperation, with an intelligent boy who also understands everything."

Thanks to the win against Zenit and Lazio's draw at Dortmund, Club still has a chance to advance in the Champions League. Because of the busy schedule, the Bruges coach may have to rest players Saturday against STVV. "That is a difficult consideration. As always, we will watch the values carefully to see how they come out of this match. But I'm not only concerned with Lazio anyway, because we need to raise our level in the league. I hope the players can carry the boost they get today into the weekend."

Seven points in the Champions League is very handsome and perhaps more will follow next week. "I get satisfaction mainly from the happiness of my players, the staff, the board and the supporters. With those fireworks at the end of the match, the fans showed that they were here too. Next week we want to go full steam ahead, without counting. Last year we went to Madrid dreaming and were close to winning. We went to Paris already dreaming and if that penalty went in, we also had a chance to win. Next week we will also go to Rome already dreaming and try to stunt there. After all, we have nothing to lose there." (SF)