Club Brugge 1-3 Real Madrid
Real Madrid had nothing left to play for in their final Champions League Group A match. They had already secured passage through to the Round of 16 as the group’s second-placed team behind Paris Saint-Germain.
As a result, Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane made several changes to his side and gave some players in his squad a run-out against Club Brugge. That included the young Brazilian duo of Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr., who both got the start upfront.
But despite fielding a somewhat weakened squad, the Champions League 2019 betting odds still had Madrid heavily favoured to beat Brugge. And they did just that thanks to their two Samba boys, who helped make sure there was no repeat of Madrid’s slip-up at the Bernabeu against the Belgians.
Highlights of the game
The first real chance of the match fell to Madrid. Luka Modric’s corner found Eder Militao, who rose high for a header. But the Brazilian centre-back was unable to get it on target.
Just a couple of minutes later, Brugge very nearly took the lead. Percy Tau directed a deflected cross toward goal, but Real keeper Alphonse Areola produced a fine reaction save to deny the Belgians. Meanwhile, the follow-up effort from Eder Balanta went wide.
Brugge keeper Simon Mignolet was then called into action on 14 minutes. Luka Jovic had a glorious opportunity to open his Champions League account, but the young Serb was thwarted by a good save by the former Liverpool keeper.
Real had another great chance to take the lead on 33 minutes through Isco. The Spanish midfielder did well to create space at the edge of the box, but his shot went agonisingly wide.
The match remained scoreless heading into half-time. But the visitors finally broke the deadlock seven minutes after the break. Right-back Alvaro Odriozola’s cross found Rodrygo, who uncorked a sensational volley with the outside of his left foot.
The 18-year-old Brazilian made headlines with his memorable hat-trick against Galatasaray and his outstanding strike is another worthy addition to his growing collection of Champions League 2019 highlights.
However, Brugge hit back immediately. Some sloppy play at the back from Madrid gave the home side the opening they needed. Emmanuel Bonaventure Dennis, who scored a brace in Brugge’s surprise 2-2 draw against Madrid at the Bernabeu, was the provider for their equaliser.
He shrugged off a challenge from Rodrygo and laid the ball off to Hans Vanaken, who produced a brilliant curling effort which gave Areola no chance.
But Brugge would be pegged back once again just after the hour mark, this time courtesy of Madrid’s other prized Brazilian teen, Vinicius Jr. The pacey winger was quick to react to a loose ball in the six-yard box as he poked it past Mignolet.
Brugge had one last chance to snatch a late equaliser, which fell to Bonaventure. The Nigerian cut inside from the left-wing and curled in a shot on his right foot, but it whistled just wide of Areola’s goal.
And just a few moments later, Luka Modric showed Bonaventure and Brugge how it’s done as he fired home Madrid’s third goal in stoppage time to seal the win.
Key statistics
As expected, Real Madrid dominated possession, 57 per cent to 43. They also edged out the home side in terms of shots (11-8) and shots on target (5-2).
Rodrygo and Vinicius both ended up with two goals apiece. Bonaventure was the busiest attacker for Brugge with three shots, although none ended up on target.
Meanwhile, Modric’s goal was the 307th of this year’s Champions League group stage, which set an all-time record.
What’s next?
Real still need to wait Monday to find out their round of 16 opponents. As group runners-up, their five possible opponents — Bayern Munich, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City, or RB Leipzig — are all quite daunting.
But before all that, Real will first need to turn their attention to La Liga, where they are level on points with Barcelona at the top of the table. After paying a visit to the Mestalla to face Valencia, they will head to the Camp Nou to play Barca in the first Clasico of the season. Don’t forget to check out the SBOBET odds for that much-anticipated match once they’re up!
As for Club Brugge, they will find themselves in the Europa League next year after finishing third in Group A.
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