Al-Ittihad takes revenge on Club Brugge. The Brussels folk confirmed their leading position with a dominant performance against the Blue Black. Championship: Algerian sensation Mohamed Amoura, who scored a scissor kick and a brilliant second goal. Visitors were once again disappointed and fears rose again.
Union – Club Brugge in brief:
- Key moment: Less than ten minutes after De Cuyper’s surprise equalizer, Union got things back on track. Rodriguez was barely on the field when he released Amora. This puts Michel at risk and leaves Mignolet behind for the second time.
- Man of the match: Mohamed Amoura confirmed once again that he represents a big sensation in Al-Ittihad this season. The fast Algerian opened the scoring in the first half with a beautiful comeback and preserved the points at Dowden Park with his second goal of the evening.
- distinct: Since returning to the top flight, Union have yet to beat Club Brugge at home. Furthermore, Union’s last home victory against Klopp dates back to 1964. Almost 60 years later, the team has succeeded again.
Gorgeous retro from Amora
Union still has a chance to be selected with Club Brugge. For two seasons in a row, the people of Bruges smashed their title dream in Brussels. The shock of last season on the final day of the Champions League qualifiers in particular was still fresh in Union’s memory.
Al-Ittihad sensation Ammoura Mohamed was allowed to start again and the Algerian thanked him for it midway through the first half with a brilliant goal. Puertas beat Balanta to a cross from Ainsa and headed the ball across goal. With great reaction, Amora left Mignolet without a chance: 1-0.
The club was only able to threaten with a weak shot from Nielsen and completely collapsed after the opening goal. On the half-hour mark, the visitors were tied 2-0 when Amora unleashed his demons once again. Mignolet was able to block his shot, but Spillers eventually cleared the ball from in front of the goal line.
Only in extra time did Klopp issue another squeak. Meier went down inside the box after a push from Vanhout and was awarded a penalty kick. There was no foul, referee Vergot thought, and VAR thought so too.
De Cuyper gives the club hope for a moment
The club’s performance did not improve at the beginning of the second half, and Al-Ittihad remained the master and master. Puertas almost doubled the lead shortly after the end of the first half after a pass from the star Amora, but he almost scored the goal.
The beginning of a series of opportunities for the home team. Simon Mignolet had to keep the club upright three times. The goalkeeper blocked a long shot from Labussan, curled a free kick from Puertas just over the goal, and also blocked a shot from Castro Montes. In the middle, Lazar headed narrow.
But while the score was 2-0 in the air, Klopp suddenly scored. Maxime De Cuyper was out of sight and with a pass from Skov Olsen, the substitute scored the equalizer into the far corner. The union was left distraught.
The Union was not satisfied for long. Less than 10 minutes after the equalizer, the home team took the lead again. Rodriguez was barely on the field when he released Amora after a foul by Wittelsen. He quickly put Michel on the spot, rounded Mignolet and scored his second goal of the evening from an acute angle.
In extra time, Spillers pulled the emergency brake inside the box when he was outpaced by Rodriguez. The substitute wanted to take the penalty kick himself, but that turned out to be not a good idea. The Ecuadorian made a mistake, but Union’s victory was no longer in danger after that.
Belesin: “My first victory against Klopp tastes sweet”
- Ronnie Deila (Club Brugge coach): “I’m very disappointed. We played very poorly in the first half, although we were a little better in the first 15 minutes. But we played very slowly and in midfield and lost the ball a lot. We were very spread apart and lacked ‘We have a fighting mentality, we have to deliver.’ Better performance than we showed today. We had to score so we did our best by making attacking substitutions. They provided positive energy, we equalized and then we were in a good position. the match. But that 2”-1 from a new counter-attack was of course a blow. We have to develop our attacking style and create more chances. We have difficulty with that, especially away from home. This was our worst away match against the big teams. “We have confidence that we are capable We need to change this quickly. “The season is still long, there are still many games to go.”
- Alexander Belsen (Al-Ittihad coach): “It’s a special victory for me, it’s my first win over Club Brugge. I’m very satisfied, it tastes good. We had a bit of a difficult time in the first minutes, we lost the ball very quickly. But after 10 minutes.” “We improved in the game and created more chances. In the first fifteen minutes of the second half we played very good football, but then Klopp scored with his first chance. I could hardly believe it. After that, the club made things difficult for us.” “We showed an excellent mentality and came back well. We should have gone 2-0 quicker to decide the game. But I definitely have to congratulate my players, I’m very proud of them.”
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