Remarkable 6-0 win for Club Brugge has players dreaming of Real Madrid | OneFootball

Club Brugge secured their Champions League status last night, as they sent Rangers packing with an emphatic 6-0 second-leg win in the final qualifying round.

After initially powering three goals past the Glaswegians in the first 20 minutes at Ibrox last week, there were questions as to whether the Jan Breydel Stadion would see the same intensity.

However, these were almost instantly squashed, as the slick-passing hosts undid the ‘Gers with a goal to make it 4-1 on aggregate less than five minutes in. At the end of a fine eight-pass sequence, Joaquin Seys crossed perfectly from the left for Nicolo Tresoldi to nod in at the near post on his first start.

Poor opening exchanges then got even worse for the visitors, as in the eighth minute, Max Aarons hauled down Christos Tzolis as the last man to receive his marching orders. With Rangers a man light, the Blauw-Zwart kept up the pressure and found the net once more just after the half-hour mark. Hans Vanaken rose best to a right-sided Tzolis corner and thundered a powerful header past Jack Butland.

Butland would be less of a passenger for the game’s third strike. Yet, he was ultimately helpless as his flat-footed defence watched him save a Seys effort from a Kyriani Sabbe cross, before the left-back then slotted home the rebound in the 41st minute. Rangers were so pedestrian that Seys managed to notch a quick-fire double just before the interval.

Again, Sabbe was found on the right. He played the ball centrally for Carlos Forbs, who then laid off Raphael Onyedika to curl in a magnificent ball for Seys to volley sweetly home from the six-yard box. TNT Sports’ commentary claimed that Russell Martin did not know where to look. Truth be told, the under-pressure boss certainly won’t have wanted to train his sights on the relative tyre fire in his defence, as Club Brugge made it 8-1 on aggregate in first-half stoppages.

Against their withdrawn visitors, it just seemed so routine from the hosts. Play it wide, cut it back into acres of space, and then put in a dangerous cross. Forbs and Vanaken took on this combination before the latter whipped in a perfect ball for the arriving head of Aleksandar Stankovic.

The scoring got back underway right after the interval, as Brugges added a ninth and final goal to their stunning aggregate victory in the 50th minute. Tzolis nipped in from the left and was worked into the box superbly as Stankovic and then Tresoldi neatly flicked him through. Butland stayed on his line, and the Greek simply carried his momentum and prodded past the stopper into the bottom-right corner.

Player reactions following “incredible team performance”

Club Brugge’s second-leg efforts helped them to match their finest continental performances to date. Against Rangers, the Belgian giants enjoyed their biggest European victory since September 2001’s 7-1 against Olympiakos Nicosia. In fact, this winning aggregate margin was only bettered on two previous occasions, with a 10-1 win against ÍA in 2001, and a 10-0 triumph over Floriana in 1973.

While there was hysteria in the Jan Breydel’s stands, the excitement was a little more masked in the post-match press area. “Everyone has played their part. That’s when you see you’re a good team,” said head coach Nicky Hayen.

“We have to play at this level every time. The league and the Champions League are different. We now have to continue this trend in the league.”

Dominant Club Brugge. Image via @OptaJohan on X.

So, which clubs does Hayen want to face in the League Phase? “It really doesn’t matter,” he smiled. “We’ve earned our place in the Champions League – that’s what matters. And the fact that two Belgian clubs are competing in the League Phase is only good for our football.”

One man who was sure who he wanted to face was one of several stand-outs, Joaquin Seys. “We’re very happy. This went easier than we anticipated. That first half was one of the best we’ve ever played.”

“Now I’d love to play Real Madrid. That’s always been a dream. And what else? Preferably, some more winnable fixtures, so we can have a great campaign. We showed some great things last season. Our goal is to do just as well, or maybe even better.”

Similarly to his manager Hayen, Club Brugge captain Hans Vanaken struck a proud figure after the match. “Now we have to enjoy this qualification and the way we achieved it. We did it perfectly. We can celebrate this for a bit, and then we have another important match in the league on Sunday.”

Fellow midfielder and goalscorer, Aleksandar Stankovic, was delighted. He even picked out his favourite goal. “Tresoldi’s was the best.”

Regarding his own header, the former Inter man continued, “I’m very happy with it, of course. It was a fantastic evening. We were very good and showed what we’re capable of. Now we need to be able to do the same in the league. Play more games like tonight’s. Recover quickly and move on to the next match.”

“How do I feel? Perfect. I feel safe and at home here. They’ve embraced me like a child.”

Nicolo Tresoldi provided the final comments. Delighted with his side, the young striker spoke of looking forward to a debut European campaign following his move to Belgium from Hannover 96.

“I’m happy with this team performance. This is an important victory. I scored a good goal, yes. A header, that’s my strength; I’m very good at it. That assist for Tzolis? I didn’t really know what to do, so I just back-heeled it. Christos then finished it off well.”

“That early red card for Rangers certainly helped us, but above all, this was an incredible team performance. This will be my first Champions League campaign. I’m going to enjoy it.”

Club Brugge will find out their league phase fixtures tonight, with the digital draw taking place in Monaco.

GBeNeFN | Max Bradfield