From hell to heaven and back. Club had the score 2-2 at the start of extra time. It had been flattered. Sometimes football is fair: the 3-2 fell. It doesn’t have to be dramatic, but it is sad.
“One of the best turfs of the season,” Nicky Hayen praised Fiorentina’s greenkeepers in advance. Then you also have to dare to play football, of course…
Halfway through the match, Fiorentina had 55 percent of the ball and 11 attempts on goal. Club only had three chances, according to UEFA figures. Blauw-zwart had difficulties in the first half: on the ball – and therefore there was little threat – but also in terms of organization.
Immediately behind
Fiorentina managed to embarrass the Bruges defenders, with overlaps, a lot of movement around the box and a portion of individual talent that you do not encounter every week in the Belgian league. After just five minutes the prize was won: Sottil got the ball on the left flank, where Sabbe, Skoras and Odoi gave him too much space to go to his right. The finish was delicious, right in the top corner, with a curl that even Courtois could not have reached: 1-0.
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Jackers, who as expected had been favored over Mignolet under the crossbar, was therefore not to blame for the opening goal, but in the run-up to the second Florentine goal he was not free. He did not process a shot from Bonaventura optimally, in the following phase Belotti was able to score (2-1). But Meijer had more problems than Jackers: the left back did not defend sharply on two occasions.
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In between, Club had leveled after a VAR intervention through Vanaken’s penalty (1-1) – the captain did what Thiago had failed to do against PAOK.
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But Club could be especially happy that the deficit had not increased: goldcrest Gonzalez was too rash twice and Beltran nodded over. Fiorentina, fair enough, was simply better than the visitors in the first 45 minutes. Hayen walked dejectedly towards the dressing room.
On the hour mark, Club’s task, which had just dropped 2-2, only became more difficult. In a few minutes, Onyedika took two yellow cards and therefore red. The Nigerian is one of the strongest players under Hayen, but here he let his team down. You need to be wiser and stop making rash tackles on the sidelines, far away from the goal, when you are already in the referee’s book. Stupid.
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But sure enough, immediately after that exclusion, Club came alongside, to the surprise of the entire stadium. Spileers, mediocre until then, with an apparently blind but well-aimed shot forward, where Thiago shook off two defenders and finished over the corner. Fantastic job.
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A lot of ink has been spilled about Thiago this season. At first he couldn’t do anything at all and Club had bought a cat in a poke, then he was one of the most efficient strikers in Europe, which earned him a transfer of 37 million euros to Brentford. Too much, according to every person in Belgium who had seen Thiago play, and they seemed to be right when there was another long drought. But on nights like in Florence you cannot ignore the fact that the shirt number 99 is very important for Club.
Then not unbeatable
We sometimes wondered if Thiago was actually Brazilian: it looked so clumsy. We have to dare to admit we’re wrong: he has more than decent feet – otherwise you wouldn’t score that way – and he bends over backwards. A deadly combo.
The equalizer gave Club courage: the fighting spirit seemed to have been rekindled. At Fiorentina, there was more desperation on the faces: it wouldn’t be that they wouldn’t win against ten, and after being so much better, would it?
Club was one man short more than once in the final quarter, but this was compensated by an incredible desire to get the good result over the line. Sabbe, Odoi, Vanaken, Jutglà and certainly Thiago: they just kept going.
It wasn’t supposed to be. At times Jackers stood in a shooting range. We thought that Club had become unbeatable under Hayen, but apparently that was not the case. After a ball hit the post, substitute Nzola made it 3-2. The Stadio Artemio Franchi exploded.
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It is not over yet. But the job has become a lot more difficult. Club will have to win next week in Jan Breydel. Let’s just hope that Thiago doesn’t have a sore throat after a night of pounding in the rain…
Club will have to be better. Everyone at Thiago’s level, please.