Former Barcelona, Reading FC and Birmingham winger shines for Fortuna Sittard in opening day victory | OneFootball

Alen Halilovic was in fine form for Fortuna Sittard as they opened their Eredivisie season with a win over Go Ahead Eagles. The 28-year-old Croatian winger scored five goals and two assists during the 2023/2024 season and took no time to get up and running. With 57 minutes on the clock, the winger cut inside with a fake before firing beyond Luca Plogmann into the back of the net. New signing Makam Aiko also helped himself to a debut goal after 73 minutes to secure the points for the away side. Despite only having 35% of the ball and allowing the home side to create plenty of chances, Mattijs Branderhorst was able to celebrate a clean sheet to open the Eredivisie season.

Last year, Fortuna Sittard finished outside of the play-off spots, behind Go Ahead Eagles who finished one place but eight points ahead of them. Go Ahead have since lost their head coach, with Rene Hake leaving the side to join up with Erik Ten Hag at Manchester United. They also lost their Europa Conference league qualification tie against Norwegian side Brann, a quick end to their European hopes for the 2024/2025 season.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson