Club Brugge drew the longest straw against Zulte Waregem after a hard-fought game. Read all reactions here.
Aleksandar Stankovic: "What a fantastic week".
Man of the match Aleksandar Stankovic came on camera with a wall-to-wall smile. "It's been a fantastic week for me with three goals in two games," he said. About the first half and especially the goals conceded, the Serb was clear: "We played well and were better but those goals we conceded really shouldn't happen with a team like Club Brugge. Fortunately, we were able to rectify that in the second half."
The 20-year-old also had words of praise for the Brugge fans. "These are the best fans in Belgium. With this crowd and fire, we pulled the match towards us. I'm happy for the team." With his two goals today, the number 25 doubled his tally in the Jupiler Pro League. "In any case, it's not because of the shoes. Today I put on a different pair. This victory is very important for the team mentally. We can now rest and prepare for a very important match come Wednesday."
Mamadou Diakhon: "I do hope to score next Wednesday"
"It's fair to say that this was a very intense match," were Mamadou Diakhon's first words a few minutes after the whistle. "I think we played a fairly good first half with a lot of movement both in possession and in ball loss. Waregem had nothing to say, but instead of making it 2-0 it was suddenly 1-2 for the visitors in a few minutes. I don't really know what just happened, but that's what happened. At halftime, the coach said that we had to stay calm and had another 45 minutes to rectify the situation and fortunately it turned out that way. We were able to maintain the pace of the first half without any problems and finally we got Waregem to their knees, in what I reckon was a deserved victory. Unfortunately my goal was disallowed for offside and my second great chance hit the post, but I hope to score next Wednesday. Obviously we know what's at stake against Marseille, but with our supporters behind us, I definitely see us beating our French opponents."
Carlos Forbs: "The most important thing was the three points tonight"
"I personally thought it was a very strange game," Carlos Forbs said. "I thought we played pretty well, especially in the first half, but suddenly shortly before halftime it was 1-2 to them and that was a bit of a shock. Our coach told us at halftime not to let our heads hang and that we still had time to react. Overall, I thought we played quite well and I think we deserved to win 4-3. The most important thing was the three points tonight and we managed to do that. The Champions League match next Wednesday was certainly not on our minds yet, but as of tomorrow we can think about that. It will indeed look like a final, but we know perfectly well what we have to do. It will be an all or nothing against Marseille and we realize that only too well, but with our known supporters behind us it should definitely work out."
Ivan Leko: "I was enjoying myself along the sidelines"
Ivan Leko saw his team put in a strong performance, yet a narrow victory was all that was in it. "We started out very well. I was really enjoying myself on the sidelines. After half an hour it should have been 3 or 4-0 already. After that, however, out of nowhere we concede those two goals. That obviously energized the visitors. But after the break there was only one team on the pitch again. We scored three, but conceded another bizarre goal on the break. They went all out in the closing stages, which caused us to panic for a while because you never know when another lucky goal like that will fall from the sky. But in the end we deservedly pulled off the victory." After last week's defeat against La Louvière and the 1-2 interval at halftime, Club was under solid pressure. "Absolutely, but I couldn't be angry at halftime. 1-2 down you normally should be, but we played very well so I could only be happy with the football brought by my team. It came down to just keep playing that fine football and they did. So I am happy with how my boys fought back." In the closing stages, Diakhon was sidelined, but without much concern. "He was very tired and that's why we substituted him. That is also understandable because he hardly played for six months and now suddenly he is playing match after match. That's also part of his development. In any case, he is doing very well. We will also need him on Wednesday, because Tzolis might not get ready to play." The Bruges coach also shed some light on the transfer of Félix Lemaréchal. "We are happy with his arrival. We can always use good players. It's a profile we didn't have yet, so he will provide more competition within our selection. He already knows the Belgian league, so that's an advantage."