Blauw-Zwart leaves the Champions League after a great run with some brilliant matches.
Hans Vanaken: "We can be very proud"
At Villa Park, Club Brugge suffered a 3-0 defeat. Unfortunately, there was no miracle. “If you look at the entire campaign, we, as Club Brugge, can be very proud. It’s disappointing to end it this way,” said Vanaken.
Kyriani Sabbe received a red card around the 15th minute. “Before that, we had a lot of possession, but few chances. After that, we still had the ball, but again, not many chances from our side. In the second half, the goal came quickly, and then it was about trying to survive and giving away as little as possible. But they did score two more times. For them, it was the ideal scenario: they could play patiently. They didn’t create chances in the first half, but the red card worked in their favour. They brought on Asensio and Bailey at halftime to finish it off, and that made a big difference,” our captain reflected on the match.
Club Brugge can look back on a strong European campaign. “Across both matches, we were at least as strong, and sometimes even stronger. We leave the Champions League with our heads held high. This stings a bit, but we should be proud. As a footballer, you always want to achieve the highest, so the elimination is disappointing, but it was a beautiful campaign."
Simon Mignolet: "We’ve stood toe-to-toe with every opponent"
Club's glovesman draws confidence from today’s strong performance. “Especially in the first half, we were very solid, even after the red card. After the break, the goals came a bit too quickly. If we could have held on a bit longer, maybe something would have been possible.”
Finally, the Brugge goalkeeper summed up the impressive campaign: “We’ve stood toe-to-toe with every opponent, even today. Each match, time and time again. We can definitely be proud of what we’ve achieved this campaign. Today was the first time we suffered a heavier defeat, but even here, we showed that we can compete at this level. What we’ve accomplished is unique for Belgium. Now, we focus on the Jupiler Pro League and the Cup, because we want to win that.”
On Sunday, the final home match of the regular season is on the schedule.