The Red Devils never gave the impression of being able to beat Ukraine and finish first in Group E this Wednesday evening. After a sluggish first half, without a real scoring opportunity, they were quickly content to defend the draw synonymous with qualification in the second half despite half-chances from Lukaku, Carrasco or Bakayoko… who were no more dangerous as Malinovskyi and Stepanenko in the other camp.
During the last minutes of the match, it felt like the whole team was not on the same page. De Bruyne had to speak up to convince Bakayoko to come and play one of the last corners of the match with him, in the corner of the field, to buy time. Vertonghen also moved around to send messages.
Expert opinion: Lukebakio should not fear for his place in the eighth
Just after the final whistle, the Devils gathered in the center of the field, in a circle. A habit. A UEFA camera then approached to capture the Belgians’ exchanges. Before being dismissed by Domenico Tedesco himself, we could hear Kevin De Bruyne remobilizing his troops, like a good captain: “It doesn’t matter, we can win this next damn match!” Before giving the floor to his coach: “Guys, what we did in this match…”
Tedesco will not finish his sentence, preferring to move the camera away from UEFA. A few moments later, after his speech was over, he let the players disperse. This is where De Bruyne refused to greet the 10,000 Belgian supporters, all busy booing their team.
The Devils were very surprised by the whistles from the Belgian public, Carrasco was even harsh in his remarks: “We don’t understand our fans”
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