After Besiktas and Anderlecht, Club now also stuck to a 1-1 draw against Genk. Blauw-Zwart saw star power against Genk in the first half, but deservedly equalized after halftime through Hans Vanaken.
"Both teams took a half each," said Ronny Deila. "It was a game with two faces. In the first half, they were better in everything. It was boys against men. We played too cautiously, got everywhere too late and lost the ball too quickly. Then you know you are in trouble against a team like Genk. They could have scored two or three goals in the first half. In the second half, it was completely the opposite. Nielsen, Balanta and Jutglà brought more dueling power, so we played much more aggressively. We were able to put them under pressure constantly. There were many dangerous situations in the sixteen yards, but too few really played-out chances. We could have won in the end, but because of our inferior first half we could also have lost. In the end, I can live with this result. It was a good open match. It was probably enjoyable for the neutral supporter, but I did not enjoy it at all during the first half."
As against Anderlecht, Club also started the match against Genk less well. "Indeed, it has been several times now that we start too slack. Maybe my message did not get through properly, but it is nevertheless clear that we want to start full throttle straight away. So we have to look at that. We especially have to be more decisive in the center of midfield. Whether it has to do with fatigue after the rapid succession of matches? No, I don't think so. Everyone seemed very sharp at training. I think it's more mental. If things don't run well right away, sometimes you start to doubt."
Club did lose Kyriani Sabbe after ten minutes with an injury. "He felt something in his ankle. He was bothered by it before, but felt good yesterday at training and also indicated he could play. Unfortunately, he soon suffered again and therefore had to go to the side. Denis came in under difficult circumstances, but did well. It was also good to see Eder filling in so strongly. Ferran is also gradually growing towards his best level." (SF)