Club Brugge performed well again in the Champions League. However, due to a red card from midfielder Raphael Onyedika with just five minutes to go in the first half, the team lost 3-1 in Milan. Christian Pulisic’s first-half goal came straight from a corner, despite Club having more than matched their opponents for most of the opening. The team forced goalkeeper Mike Maignan into a number of saves when Ferran Jutgla and Christos Tzolis came close.

Yet Onyedika’s tackle was turned into a red card in the 40th minute after a VAR review. Even though there were only 10 men left, the team got back into the game. Joaquin Seys left at halftime after receiving a yellow card in the first half. His replacement, Kyriani Sabbe, was the scorer of the team’s equalizer. A well-executed move eventually resulted in Hugo Vetlesen putting the ball to the right back, who shot on goal.

Still, the man advantage started to have a bigger impact. Ten minutes after the equalizer, Tijjani Reijnders made it 2-1, with the Dutch midfielder grabbing his second in the 71st minute. This proved to be too much for Club and the team suffered its second defeat in the competition. Although defeats against AC Milan and Dortmund were expected from the start, the team competed well in both matches and could have earned at least a point.

Next up for the Club in this year’s competition is a home match against Aston Villa.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson