Naija football fans, una don hear? For Belgium Jupiler Pro League, di Champions' Play-offs don start, and di first match na serious topper wey go hot. Club Brugge and Anderlecht don meet for Jan Breydel Stadium, and di match don start with fire from di beginning.
Di game don begin with immediate action. For di first minute, Club Brugge get corner kick. Forbs try to pass Augustinsson, but di Swedish defender push di ball over di line. From dat corner, Tresoldi receive di ball near di first post and shoot to goal. Augustinsson clear am for di line. Vanaken try again, but De Cat block am. Tresoldi try second time, but di ball go wide. Wahala dey!
Anderlecht no dey look. Dem come attack immediately. De Cat take first shot to Mignolet goal, but di ball curve away. Degreef get plenty space to shoot later, and Mechele block am well-well. Mignolet don already lie down. Anoda corner kick come, and Vanaken use head but di ball meet Anderlecht defenders.
Jasper Vergoote na di referee wey dey control dis big match. Di question dey: go Club Brugge continue dia good form, or go Anderlecht collect points from dia rival again? Di fans dey shout “Ruud, Ruud, Ruud” for Ruud Vormer wey be special guest today. Chemsdine Talbi dey there too, di player wey move from Club to Sunderland last summer.
Club Brugge fans show tifo with “Eyes on the prize” and one-and-half star. Dem dey show say dem wan collect second star for dia 20 championships. Dis na di third time consecutive wey both teams dey meet for dia first match of Champions’ Play-offs. Last year, Club win 2-0 with goals from Tzolis and Vermant. Year before dat, blauw-zwart win 3-1 with Mechele and two times Onyedika, while Dreyer score for Anderlecht.
Di last meeting for Jan Breydel end 2-2 draw with plenty fire. Club Brugge control di game for long time, but Anderlecht show efficiency with De Cat and Degreef scoring two times. Club answer each time with Tresoldi as savior, but di missed chance for win still dey mind. For Anderlecht, di draw na mental boost: purple-white show sharpness in transition and collect points against Club dis season again. Goalkeeper Coosemans be hero with spectacular save for last seconds.
Anderlecht coach Jérémy Taraval no choose between his two strikers. Him put Bertaccini as deep striker and Cvetkovic from left side. Dat mean Stroeykens go bench. Llansana take back his midfield position instead of Tajaouart. For defense, Hey go help Tresoldi. Ilic no dey starting lineup.
For Club Brugge side, Ivan Leko fit use his key player again. Hans Vanaken don recover from hip injury and dey ready to play. Dat na di only expected change. Vetlesen go bench. Leko keep his Champions League team with top scorer Tresoldi as striker and Tzolis and Forbs on wings. Mignolet start in goal as part of his farewell tour.
Club Brugge begin Champions’ Play-offs with confidence after easy win against KV Mechelen. After one minute, dem almost score with Tresoldi and control di match from beginning to end. With Sabbe as unexpected star and strong collective performance, blauw-zwart show say dem fit stand without Vanaken. Anderlecht experience bad last match day. Dem lose painfully at home against Cercle Brugge and look uninspired and vulnerable for long time. Through defensive mistakes and lack of creativity, Anderlecht only do something back in final phase. Thanks to favorable results elsewhere, Anderlecht narrowly stay in top six, but dem need different approach to play meaningful role in title race.
Analyst Wim De Coninck talk say Club Brugge get 14 from 30 points against play-off opponents in regular season. “Dat go need to better if dem wan become champion,” him talk. “Club don free from Champions League now, so dem fit play with full focus on play-offs. To color dia season completely, dem need to stop Union from second consecutive title.”
De Coninck continue: “Di difference na 4 points now, and within two weeks Union-Club dey for schedule. Club no get choice but to collect three points against Anderlecht, if dem no wan go to Dudenpark with small heart.”
Coaches know each other well. Jérémy Taravel and Ivan Leko play together for Sporting Lokeren from 2010 to 2014. Last season, di Frenchman be assistant coach at Standard when Leko be head coach there.
Former Anderlecht coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck fear say purple-white go start with clear defeat. “I fear for clear defeat. First match immediately put feet on ground,” him talk to DAZN. Him talk say if Anderlecht miss start in play-offs and need to play cup final when things no dey go well, dem fit change coach again. “I find am fine guy (Jérémy Taravel), I get am as player myself. I hope for him say dem continue fight for European places.”
Vanhaezebrouck no expect Anderlecht to achieve dia target of third place. Anderlecht currently get 22 points, seven less than STVV wey dey third position. Di match dey ongoing with both teams dey fight for important three points.
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