Anderlecht defends its leadership position with gusto, but remains determined after injuries to Dreyer and Schmeichel

Anderlecht

Cercle Bruges

31′ – Goal – Théo Leoni (1 – 0)
33′ – Goal – Anders Dreyer (2 – 0)
37′ – Yellow – Warleson
37′ – Cont. Anders Dreyer by Francis Amuzu
44′ – Yellow – Leonardo Lopes

53′ – Yellow – Félix Lemaréchal
57′ – Goal – Théo Leoni (3 – 0)
64′ – Cont. Hannes Van der Bruggen by Nils de Wilde
69′ – Cont. Thomas Delaney by Majeed Ashimeru
70′ – Cont. Mario Stroeykens by Luis Vázquez
72′ – Cont. Hugo Siquet by Senna Miangue
72′ – Cont. Abu Francis by Malamine Efekele
83′ – Cont. Ludwig Augustinsson by Moussa Ndiaye
90′ – Yellow – Luis Vázquez
90+1′ – Yellow – Malamine Efekele

Jupiler Pro League – matchday 5 – 24/04/24 – 20:31

time	player	homeTime	homePlayer	score
31′	Theo Leoni	31′	Theo Leoni	1 – 0
33′	Anders Dreyer	33′	Anders Dreyer	2 – 0
57′	Theo Leoni	57′	Theo Leoni	3 – 0

A glorious victory with a dark edge. Anderlecht defended its leading position relatively easily against Cercle Brugge. Goals from Leoni (2x) and Dreyer were good for three points. However, the Purple & White also saw its top scorer and goalkeeper injured.

Anderlecht – Cercle Brugge in a nutshell:

Key moment: Around the half hour mark, 2 goals are scored in 3 minutes. The first real chances for the home team immediately resulted in two goals. After that, Cercle Brugge never had enough control over the game to even have a chance of a comeback.

Man of the match: Nobody noticed the football at Anderlecht, but with 2 goals, Théo Leoni was the most important player of the evening. The midfielder also played a solid game.

Remarkable: Scoring was no problem for Anderlecht, but things didn’t always look good at the back. When playing away, Augustinsson and Sardella often gave impure passes forward. Cercle Brugge did not benefit from it today, but against stronger opponents this could be a bitter blow.

The best start did not come from leader Anderlecht, but from the visitors from Bruges. Cercle striker Denkey was sent deep, but from an acute angle he could not beat Schmeichel.

It could have been the start of a flashy match, but the rest of the opening phase meant little. Both clubs piled up the ball losses.

Dreyer’s shot was too weak to embarrass Warleson.

Cercle Brugge disappointed and were down against Anderlecht. The Purple & White also created very little, but suddenly they managed to score.

Just after the half hour, Theo Leoni wriggled past defenders with a few tricks. While falling, he was still able to kick the ball into the goal.

About a minute later it happened again. Lopes da Silva made a mistake with a completely wrong pass. Dolberg thus received the ball in depth. The Dane crossed low and Anders Dreyer pushed in after a sprint.

2-0 was the reward, but the sprint also felled Dreyer. He had to leave a few minutes later with a hamstring injury.

No response from visitors

After Thorgan Hazard and Yari Verschaeren, Anderlecht is also in danger of losing Anders Dreyer for a while, and it didn’t stop there.

Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel remained in the dressing room with a minor injury. Colin Coossemans was actually allowed to come in. These were his very first minutes for Anderlecht.

The second goalkeeper did not have much work. Cercle Brugge continued to look in vain for some space, but it had little frivolity in the house.

It was Anderlecht that scored before the hour mark. Warleson made a mistake on a cross. Dolberg interfered somewhat and the Cercle goalkeeper was unable to clamp the ball.

He also had no control when trying to grab the ball. Theo Leoni was lurking and scored the 3-0.

Cercle Brugge had been hit against the canvas and could no longer bounce back. Attempts from substitute Olaigbe and Denkey later in the 2nd half were no challenge for Coosemans.

Anderlecht did not have to convince to keep the points at home. A miss by Luis Vazquez was a footnote. Final score: 3-0.

Anderlecht and Cercle Brugge will meet again next weekend. The question is which players will have recovered at title favorite Anderlecht.

“The goals conceded were giveaways”

Thibo Somers (Cercle Brugge) was ill and only played after rest: “The last two days my sinuses were blocked. Thanks to medication I was able to play.” According to him, it was mainly a game of missed opportunities. “After 20 seconds we could have broken the game open. That didn’t work and then it quickly became 2-0. After the 3-0 in the second half we no longer believed in it. We have to move more up front and attack in the back because we have players with speed.”

Mats Rits (Anderlecht): “We played a very mature match. You know that when you play against Cercle Brugge the first 20 to 30 minutes will be full. We were ready and won a lot of duels. They tried to force us into a mistake by provoking that we play football. Now we look at this weekend to get 3 points again. Now we will not dream, because we have seen how quickly emotions can go up and down.”

Miron Muslic (coach Cercle Brugge): “We started fantastic, because in the first 25 minutes we put a lot of pressure on Anderlecht. Then we gave it away and it was punished at the top level. The goals conceded were gifts. We have to learn from that and evolve as a young team. The next step is to create composure on that final pass.”

END: Anderlecht remains in the lead

It was anything but a high-quality match in the Lotto Park, but Anderlecht did take 3 important points. It is still in control of the title battle. Before half time it was already 2-0. A mistake by Warleson was the death blow for Cercle Brugge, which could show very little.

After Luis Vazquez, Efekele also received a yellow card. These are the last moments of this match. The 3 points remain in Anderlecht.

3 – extra time

An extra 3 minutes will be added.

Vazquez drops 4-0

The Argentinian substitute is played by Leoni. He takes a little too much time and oversteps.

Save Coosemans

Denkey still wants to score his goal. This time his shot is between the posts, but straight at Coosemans.

Return N’Diaye

After almost 4 months of injuries, N’Diaye can make minutes again. He replaces Augustinsson, who played a very bad match in football.

Denkey places wide

Ravych picks up the ball around the center line and passes it to Denkey. The striker kicks a few feet wide of Coosemans’ goal.

The match is winding towards the end. At Cercle Brugge there is no player who can provide an extra. Miangue sometimes makes a dangerous cross, but Efekele cannot reach it.