Sint Truiden 1-1 Club Brugge: Club Brugge has less chance every week to become national champion for the fourth time in a row. On a visit to Sint-Truiden, the blue-blacks did not get further than a 1-1 draw. The gap with leader Genk is now nineteen points.
Among the visitors there was a starting lineup place for both Bjorn Meijer and Noa Lang. They had to wait for CPR in the away section before the match could start. Club, without a win in the Jupiler Pro League since the end of October, took the initiative. Clinton Mata came close with a shot that went a meter wide. Noa Lang hit the side net after fifteen minutes: Club was stronger.
Halfway through the first half it also became 0-1, thanks to an own goal by Wolke Janssens. The defender wanted to clear a cross, but accidentally outwitted his own keeper. Bruges were lucky that a foul on Daichi Hayashi did not lead to a penalty, and took the break 0-1. After the break, disaster struck.
Goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, back at the club where it all started for him. He was able to keep Club going for a long time. But missed the equalizer. He let Daiki Hashioka’s cross slip through his hands, after which Gianni Bruno easily scored for De Kanaries. It would stay with that 1-1, the umpteenth downer in a season that is going well for Club in a European context, but could hardly have been worse in the competition.
The inglorious 31-year record broken
Club is the first champion in the Belgian league not to win six league games in a row since 1992. When they also had such a bad run as reigning champions. The gap to Genk is nineteen points, although it will be halved at the start of the play-offs for the championship. Scott Parker’s team, the Englishman still hasn’t won a match in Flemish service, has to make sure they make the play-offs. To do that they have to finish in the top four, and Club is fourth, one point ahead of number five AA Gent.
Parker was therefore not amused with his team. “We did not radiate any threat at all. This is not the way I want to see my team play. There is an extreme amount of work to be done. I want us to play football to score. We have to solve this quickly,” the ex-pro from Chelsea and West Ham United, among others, grumbled into the microphone of Eleven Sports.
