Mbark Boussoufa's tremendous late strike was the difference
Billed as the match of the Belgium Pro League season, it would turn out to be as fine a contest as advertized. Anderlecht hosted Club Brugge, hoping to maintain their fluid offensive attack in order to more-or-less seal the championship with a win. Brugge, for their part—knowing full well that Anderlecht has maintained an unbeaten home record this year–were hoping for at least a point to stay in title contention.
The importance of the match was evidenced by the restrained start, as both sides were hesitant to move forward. But the home side would nevertheless strike in the 5th minute, after earning a free kick near the left corner flag. Mbark Boussoufa, who has been in fine form, set in an excellent ball that defender Roland Juhász boldly headed in after getting in front of his marker.
Boussoufa would keep straining the Brugge defense minutes later, trying his luck from 22 yards only to have the ball move inches wide of the far post. Combine that effort with a Jelle van Damme sprint forward that led to a cross just beyond Romelu Lukaka’s reach, and it looked as though it was Anderlecht’s day.
But the visitors would regain their shape and began to apply greater pressure in midfield. Although the strategy would yield several yellow cards, it did work toward deflating the Anderlecht attack and bring more parity to the proceedings.
Brugge would get a great chance after Ryan Donk fed a cross in from midfield to Ivan Perisic, who chose to go for a header despite having time and space to it down. Although it would go high, the play would see a shift in play that eventually led to a Brugge equalizer.
Off a Brugge corner, Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe would have the ball bounce comfortably to his strong side and offer a blistering 25-yard shot that would be deflected off Lucas Biglia and into the goal.
The remainder of the first half was a tightly balanced contest, with both squads having limited mobility in the midfield.
The second half would open with Anderlecht having several decent chances in the box, but the home squad would fail to get a solid shot on goal.
There inability to find an opening would be followed by some fantastic buildup from Brugge. 10 minutes into the half, Perisic would play a simple one-two with substitute Ronald Vargas, with Perisic storming into the right side of the box. Having space, his ensuing cross met Dorge Kouemaha on the far side of goal for an easy tap in. A well-worked team effort that was rewarded with the lead.
But some spurious refereeing would be the next, match-changing event: Vargas—who had only been on the pitch for six minutes for Brugge–was sent off after a challenge that should not have even been deemed an infraction. Unfortunately, though not surprisingly, the decision would prove costly for the visitors.
Anderlecht would control possession and place great pressure on a Brugge that was desperately trying to hand on to the lead. Nicolas Frutos would eventually come through for Anderlecht on 74 minutes, scoring a close-range strike off the post.
The tension was mounting as Brugge tried their best to stave off the relentless attack of the Purple and White. But there was simply too much time to kill.
Deep within stoppage time, Boussoufa would put the finishing touches on a excellent performance. Taking a pass from van Demme near the goal line on the left side, the tricky Moroccan managed to wrangle loose from Perisic. Spinning around the Brugge midfielder, Boussoufa right-footed an exquisite ball from a difficult angle. The strike would clip the far post and land in the net—allowing Anderlecht to achieve the comeback victory and, it appears, secure the championship.
With the win Anderlecht go a full nine points ahead of Club Brugge at the top of the table with only six matches remaining.
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