Cercle Brugge was unable to pull off an upset in the Bruges city derby. The Vereniging matched Club toe-to-toe but was given a lesson in efficiency by their rivals. Three goals in ten minutes in the first half proved too much for Groen-Zwart to overcome.

A sun-drenched Jan Breydel Stadium – and by extension, the whole city of Bruges – was ready for an old-fashioned city derby. Both Cercle and Club were the only Belgian teams still active in European competition, but both suffered disappointing results earlier this week.

As if that wasn’t enough motivation, title contenders Genk had put pressure on Club by winning at Dender on Saturday, while Mechelen and STVV also secured victories in the relegation battle, where Groen-Zwart remains involved.

Cercle started the derby in dominant fashion, with a strong performance from Paris Brunner, who was back in the starting lineup for the first time since his injury. The German striker quickly forced Ordonez into an early yellow card. Despite the positive start, Groen-Zwart had to allow the first real chance of the game – unsurprisingly, a counterattack from Club. Talbi's deflected shot was pushed into the side netting by Delanghe.

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On the other side, Magnée tested Mignolet with a well-placed effort. Van der Bruggen also tried his luck from distance after a brilliant move by Agyekum, but his shot lacked accuracy. Club remained dangerous on the counter and struck three times in ten minutes. First, Jashari broke down the flank and set up Vanaken for the opening goal. Then, Jutgla twice finished with clinical precision when one-on-one with Delanghe. The 0-3 halftime score was a bitter pill to swallow.

At halftime, Brunner made way for Augusto, while Minda – who provided electric bursts of energy but had to leave the field injured after fifteen minutes – came on. Cercle began the second half with renewed determination and fought back through Diakité, who had been outstanding defensively. The defender smashed in a corner at the near post: 1-3.

Cercle pushed forward, and Somers came close but was just a fraction late to turn in Magnée's cross. With twenty minutes remaining, Diakité once again popped up in the box, but his attempt to close the gap was blocked by Mechele. Ngoura made his debut for Groen-Zwart, but the best late chances still fell to Club, with Ravych clearing the ball off the line twice in stoppage time.

Line-ups:

Cercle Brugge: Delanghe, Diakité, Perrin, Agyekum, Nunes, Brunner (46’ Augusto), Magnée (76' Bruninho), Francis (46’ Minda, 65’ Nazinho), Van der Bruggen (81' Ngoura), Somers, Ravych

Club Brugge: Mignolet, Ordonez (62’ Romero), Tzolis (73’ Nilsson), Jutgla, Onyedika (46’ Vetlesen), Vanaken, Jashari, Mechelen, De Cuyper, Sabbe (73’ Siquet), Talbi (62’ Skoras)

Yellow cards:

9’ Ordonez, 21’ Onyedika, 68’ Van der Bruggen

Goals:

26’ Vanaken 0-1, 34’ Jutgla 0-2, 36’ Jutgla 0-3, 57’ Diakité 1-3