Club Brugge fans have something to look forward to again. On Friday afternoon at 2 p.m., Club will be the last remaining Belgian club in Europe to draw for the quarter-finals of the Conference League. The semi-finals will also be drawn at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon. With a little imagination, blue and black fans can map out the route that can take them to the Conference League final in Athens on May 29.
Club’s situation is reminiscent of that of Anderlecht, exactly a year ago. The Purple & White made a mess of it last season in the Belgian competition, but eased the suffering by eliminating Spanish Villarreal in the 1/8th finals of the Conference League. Anderlecht had to face AZ from Alkmaar in the quarter-finals, where they ultimately had to bow after kicking penalties.
Club Brugge had a less impressive opponent than Villarreal in Molde FK, but suffered a 2-1 defeat in Norway last week. Club was also eliminated in the Belgian Cup, while in the competition it has drifted completely away from the title race. Trainer Ronny Deila gave the impression this week that he had resigned himself to a premature departure from Bruges.
For the return match against Molde, Deila recovered three important players. Simon Mignolet was in goal again, Igor Thiago was the striker and Hugo Vetlesen was allowed to drive in midfield. Mignolet had a very quiet evening. Molde was only able to counter-attack very sporadically and was usually limited to defending. Anyone who saw the Norwegians play on Thursday will wonder how they could have beaten Club Brugge a week earlier.
Hugo Vetlesen showed himself to be particularly active against his compatriots. He eagerly applied pressure and looked for teamwork with Andreas Skov Olsen. That provided the first Bruges chances, even though the game remained slow and lethargic, especially before half time.
Velvet left
Igor Thiago was responsible for the 1-0. The Brazilian did not play his best game for Club, but won a duel in midfield after which Club was able to quickly break away and Skov Olsen was able to complete a clever collective attack. Shortly after halftime, Skov Olsen scored a second time. The Dane seems to be struggling in some matches, but had one of his better evenings and demonstrated his velvet left hand by scoring from outside the box. Molde goalkeeper Oliver Petersen had no chance.
After the 2-0 score, Molde seemed to have resigned itself to European elimination. Skov Olsen left (with hindrance?) and his replacement Michal Skoras put the final score on the board. Club will play its quarter-final matches after the international break on April 11 and 18. It has been the 2014-2015 season since Club reached the last eight of a European Cup. Then it finally had to give up against the Ukrainian Dnipro, which in turn lost to the eventual winner Sevilla.
Possible opponents include Viktoria Plzen, Aston Villa, Fenerbahçe, PAOK, Lille, Fiorentina and Olympiakos. Who Skov Olsen and co. saw football on Thursday, gives Club chances against most of those opponents. Aston Villa with Red Devil Youri Tielemans would be the most prestigious opponent.
Farewell gift
It changes little for Ronny Deila’s situation. The Norwegian will remain at the helm without incident until the end of the season, after which his contract will most likely be terminated. Putting himself in the spotlight with a glorious European tour is perhaps the best farewell gift he could wish for himself and his team.
Goals: 45+1′ Skov Olsen 1-0, 48′ Skov Olsen 2-0, 70′ Skoras 3-0
