Cercle Brugge ended the League Phase with a 1-1 draw against Istanbul Basaksehir. Paris Brunner canceled out Piatek’s opening goal in the end and gave the Association a point. That point is enough for a place in the top eight.
Cercle Brugge has started the post-Kévin Denkey era with a points division. Right back Gary Magnée provided the first danger. He aimed for the post early with a scissor kick. A little later, Alan Minda also tested the Turkish goalkeeper with a long shot and on the other side Crespo – not Hernan – shot into the side netting. The puppets started dancing for a moment when Magnée fell down theatrically after the Basaksehir goalkeeper came up nose and nose. It earned the goalie a yellow card, but it did no good to the match, as it came to a standstill afterwards. The second half also failed to improve, despite two chances in the early stages. First Cercle got away well when Kemen decided to be too weak and afterwards Somers was unable to push in a cross. Afterwards, nothingness followed for a long time. Until Cercle got a cold shower out of nowhere fifteen minutes before the end. Piatek finished it off after a nice combination: 0-1. Cercle seemed to be on its way to defeat, but that was not expected by Paris Brunner: he scored the equalizer with a striking header. Afterwards, Cercle also had more than enough chances to score the winning goal, but the efficiency was lacking. Although in the end it would not be a problem, because Cercle only needed a place in the top eight.
Foto: David Catry / Isosport
Belgium
