After the topper against Union, we gathered reactions from Andreas Skov Olsen, Simon Mignolet, Denis Odoi and coach Ronny Deila.
Andreas Skov Olsen: "We deserved to win"
Club Brugge could not finish its last game of the calendar year 2023 with a three-peat. Against leader Union it stuck at a 1-1 draw. This to the disappointment of Andreas Skov Olsen.
"I think it is fair to say that we deserved to win today. Especially in the first half we were significantly better than Union and had a number of chances to open the score. But despite our superiority, on the other hand, we had to go into halftime trailing."
However, the Danish winger was not blind to the inferior second half either. "After the break, we had a harder time imposing our will on an opponent who above all did not want to lose and yet had a hand in this from the referee. He clearly forgot to send Burgess to the locker room early with a second yellow card, which could have given the game a different face. But here in Belgium there is always something with the refereeing. On the other hand, somewhere I am also relieved that we did not lose, in the end that one point is always better than having to go into the short winter break with a defeat." (MV)
Simon Mignolet: "We have taken steps forward"
Simon Mignolet had little work to do against Union and only had to concede on a header by Nilsson. Club equalized afterwards with a penalty kick by Thiago, but Blauw-Zwart did not get any further.
"Being Club Brugge, you don't want to draw at home, even if it's against Union, which is a very savvy team. It was a big fight. We had a good plan ready and had everything under control. We started with good pressure and they geared up which made it a little harder for us to take care of the build-up and find the free man. It's unfortunate that we fell behind 0-1, but otherwise we were in control of the game. I had little work, on our side there were no big chances either. In the second half we played more power play, in which we did have more of a claim to victory. The last twenty minutes was with three at the back and we played more on their half. The game went up and down and we saw two teams that put in a good performance. It wasn't always pretty soccer, but based on effort and tactical discipline we kept each other in balance. Overall, a 1-1 draw is a correct result. Okay, in the standings we don't advance anything with this point. But if we look at performance and performance, it is on the rise. And we need to continue that after the break. On stage in Marbella, we have to get ready for that second round and update the small details. Further still be more efficient so we can get races like this over the line."
Club did take steps forward compared to the game at Duden Park. "As a team we have taken a huge step in terms of dueling power. After the game in Union we chatted about that step, to win those fifty-fifty duels. The game there we were the weaker team. Now we've taken that step forward and are on par with them. In the last 11 games, we have won eight times and drawn three times. We only swallowed three goals, which is very positive. We scored twenty-six, we can be proud of that as a group. I am happy as a group that we stood our ground and that we were not overrun." (KN)
Denis Odoi: "A draw against the leader is not bad"
The topper between Club and leader Union eventually ended in a fair draw. The substitute Denis Odoi could somewhat live with that, although he felt Blauw-Zwart deserved more for their strong first half.
"A draw against the leader is not bad," said the defender a few minutes after the whistle. "But being Club Brugge you definitely want to win such a top game, we owe it to our status. All in all, I personally thought it was an interesting match. The referee let a few times play on and I think that's okay, because otherwise you don't get a rhythm and you can't play the soccer you would like. All in all, I thought a lot of his decisions were okay. Burgess flirted a few times with a second yellow card, but in such top games everything has to be decided so quickly, which I understand. I think we started the match very well and got some nice chances as a result, but on the other hand Union had enough of one chance to score. That proves why they are currently the leader in our league. At halftime we said that we should try to continue in the same way. Making actions and hoping that we could then still score against them. I can't say much about the Vetlesen penalty, because I did see that he was hooked in the sixteen. I found it strange that it had to take so long before he was finally awarded. Of course we would have preferred to win tonight, but so we have to be satisfied with a 1-1 draw." (FDC)
Ronny Deila: "Top performance from the fans."
Club played a strong game against Union, but had to make peace with a point. Coach Ronny Deila especially praised the Bruges fans afterwards.
"There was an excellent atmosphere. It was first and foremost a top performance by the fans. We played very strong during the first twenty minutes. After that, the game was more balanced. We had plenty of chances, but didn't finish them. Union, on the other hand, was efficient and finished the first chance immediately. In the second half, we started aggressively and scored the deserved equalizer. After that it was evenly matched again. It was an emotional match, with numerous debatable phases. Burgess in particular was involved in quite a few phases. I think he could have been given a second yellow card. In any case, we were the better team, but unfortunately we couldn't win. We are growing as a team and so I look to the future with confidence." (SF)
Rewatch the press conference here: