COMMENTS. Maxim De Cuyper not happy about fatal penalty against Club Brugge: “You can never whistle at such a moment”

READ ALSO. Then no European final for Club Brugge: late penalty from Fiorentina ends the fairy tale

Hans Vanaken: “They were just a little better than us”

He already made it 1-0 and at the very end captain Hans Vanaken could also have scored the second goal. “My shot was just not enough in the corner to go in, but the keeper also took it well,” Vanaken is disappointed. Sporza. But he is also honest. “In the second half we were just a little bit unable to keep the ball. All in all, over two games, they were slightly better than us. When those balls hit the goal frame you think ‘maybe all the luck is on our side’, but then came the penalty phase. It’s sad to concede that equalizer like that.”

“I don’t know if the VAR would intervene if he didn’t blow the whistle,” Vanaken gives his opinion about the penalty phase. “Maxim was also held for a while, I think. If a penalty were called there, the VAR would not intervene. But these are phases that fall into the gray zone. Sometimes you are against it, other times you are given it. It is especially sad that the equalizer came so late. Because when you go to overtime, everything is in it.”

“We still have everything to play for in the last three matches in the competition, so we have to focus on that now. Now we have a few days to process this. I think when we look back on this course we will be very proud. But if you’re in the semi-finals, you want to go to that final. Unfortunately that didn’t work out, but we still have a championship to focus on.”

Maxim De Cuyper: “Penalty incomprehensible to me”

“We have to be honest: they deserved a goal, they hit the crossbar and the post a few times,” Maxim De Cuyper is also honest about the opponent. But the left back was not happy with the penalty that Club awarded. “But the way it happens… that penalty is incomprehensible to me. I think you can never whistle that at such a moment. It was a duel like there were throughout the match. And if you don’t whistle that the entire match, you shouldn’t whistle it in the box either.”

He was honest about the contact in the box at the end of the match where De Cuyper himself went down and claimed a penalty. “I felt contact, but that might have been too light for a penalty. But on the other side (at Fiorentina’s goal, ed.) it wasn’t a penalty either.”

“We started the match well and had the feeling that it was possible. I had the feeling (through all the balls on the goalpost, ed.) that it just wasn’t for them all. It’s really painful to be eliminated in such a way.”

Will the disappointment be processed by Monday, when Club takes on Union? “That’s still a while, we still have some time. It is logical that this hurts, we will not experience this too much again, although I certainly hope so. But by Monday this will be forgotten.”

Simon Mignolet: “Tomorrow the sun will rise again and life will continue”

It had to be one of the biggest matches in the history of Club Brugge and it seemed to be after a flashy goal and an early and clever goal, but Fiorentina was still a size too big, even though it needed a penalty to do that. into action and a result. “It’s a shame that such a capital match has to be decided by the ref and a penalty kick,” Mignolet did not hide his disappointment.

Mignolet admitted that Club had a hard time, especially after the break. “The difference is of course also related to quality, they can bring in a boy like Nzola, who scored 25 goals last season and really weighs on a defense. They hit the frame a few times and were better, but it remained 1-0 and we seemed to be going to extra time and perhaps penalties, but then it is a shame that such a match has to be decided by the ref.”

“There must have been contact, but in such a charged match with so many duels and such intensity, it is a shame that as a ref you don’t feel better and don’t decide the match with a penalty kick. I saw two boys fighting for the ball, but whether that was a penalty?”

Fiorentina reached the final for the second time in a row and turned out to be a really sophisticated team. “Playing 1-1 against such a team is a great result and we should not forget this great campaign so quickly,” said Mignolet, who would have loved to become a legend of Club Brugge by reaching the final.

That is still possible, but he realizes that time is running out due to his age. A new title could bring him a little closer to that status. “I also said that to the young guys in the locker room. They still get the time and the opportunities. We did what we had to do and the supporters thought so too. Besides, the season isn’t over yet. We now have to quickly turn the switch and focus on the competition. This elimination should not hinder the rest of our season. Tomorrow the sun will rise again and life will continue. That’s what it’s all about now.”

Mignolet had not noticed that Brandon Mechele was crying after the match, but protected the veteran. “Brandon should not feel guilty, he played a very strong match and has been performing at a high level for a whole season. That happens to the best, we all know who he is, in the dressing room he is the biggest fan of Club Brugge and then it hurts twice as much for someone like that.”