After an emphatic qualifying campaign, Club Brugge continue to turn heads in the Champions League, as they thrashed Monaco in their first league phase opener on Thursday night.
The Jan Breydel Stadion was bouncing as a frenetic game got underway. Christos Tzolis missed a golden opportunity just four minutes in. Carlos Forbs showed electric pace to get to the right byline and cut back, yet the Greek couldnโt grab his second-ever UCL goal as he fired past the left post.
Less than five minutes later, the decibels rose again. Although this time, they were collective groans as Simon Mignolet brought down Mika Biereth for a penalty. Cheers would return, however, when the veteran stopper saved Maghnes Aklioucheโs tame spot-kick before finding himself in the book for getting in the refereeโs face.
Nicolo Tresoldi had some interesting yet albeit unsuccessful flashes of activity in front of goal ahead of the half-hour mark, yet this wasnโt an issue as the opener arrived on 32โฒ. Pushed on by his earlier efforts, the 21-year-old German notched his first goal in the competition after being deftly slotted in by Hans Vanaken.
Vanaken would again have a huge part to play, as Club grabbed their second and third goals just before the interval. First, his left-sided corner imposed a save upon Philipp Kohn after a flying Aleksandar Stankovic header. Forbs kept the ball alive on the byline, and Raphael Onyedika forced it home from close range.
Then, the experienced midfield wizard conjured up a sublime piece of magic in the 42nd minute. After the Monegasque defence cleared a free-kick cross from the right, Vanaken was well-placed in the box to laser a beautiful volley into the top-right corner.
The second half was admittedly a little less action-packed, yet the hosts found their fourth goal 15 minutes from the end. Joaquin Seys crossed well from the left, and Tresoldi dummied, before 19-year-old Mamadou Diakhon jinked back the way it came and whipped an effort inside the left post for his first goal in the competition.
Ansu Fatiโs slammed shot after a Minamino set in stoppage time did deny the hosts of a clean sheet, yet it didnโt really change the outlook, as Club Brugge platformed their European intent at home.
French press lament Monaco performance against dominant Blauw-Zwart
Club Brugge humiliated Monaco, and this was emphatically reinforced by the reaction of the French media after the game. Le Parisien called the outing โa disgrace and a punishment.โ
โThe trip to Belgium turned into a nightmare for Monaco,โ the newspaper wrote. โA nightmare that began the day before the match. A technical problem with their plane prevented them from leaving, forcing their departure to be postponed until the next day. Starting in their underwear โ on the tarmac at Nice airport- their Champions League debut ended with suitcases full ofโฆ goals.โ
Their match report also claimed that โthe difference in intensity between the two teams was too striking. While the Bruges players excelled with numerous combinations, the Monaco players had only one desire: to get rid of the ball as quickly as possible, even if it was just by doing something random.โ
Lโรquipe echoed this sentiment. โThe players from the Principality were completely overwhelmed in Bruges, to an extent that is hard to grasp. Monaco were completely torn apart.โ The French sports newspaper calls Club โa collective machineโ and also makes a big deal about the match on its front page. โTรชte basse,โ it says. โWith heads bowed.โ
The most pointed comments came from RMC, with journalist Daniel Riolo questioning: โHow can you arrive in the Champions League and be so outclassed by Brugge? At no point should you fall flat on your face like that. You shouldnโt let yourself be finished off like that.โ
Columnist Florent Gautreau went even further. โThis is shameful. A disgrace to French football. Club Brugge did everything perfectly, but there was a complete lack of personality at AS Monaco.โ
GBeNeFNย |ย Max Bradfield
