“Emmanuel Kakou turns the ball into his own net following a Cercle Brugge corner sequence that started from a Gent attack, gifting Gent an early lead they didn't need to work hard for.”
Pivotal“Tibe De Vlieger converts from the penalty spot after a VAR review overturned the initial decision, punishing a Geoffrey Kondo handball in the box to double Gent's advantage.”
Pivotal“Substitute El Hadji Seck adds a third in stoppage time, completing a ruthless finish to a game Cercle Brugge had dominated territorially but never got reward for.”
Cercle Brugge
Gent
Outstanding performance
Gent•MidfielderCercle Brugge controlled large stretches of this match, racking up 43 dangerous attacks to Gent's 26 and dominating the corner count 8-0, but none of that mattered on the scoreboard. An early own goal from Emmanuel Kakou in the 21st minute, sparked by a Gent corner sequence, gave the visitors a lead they never relinquished. Gent were clinical when it counted, converting a 77th-minute penalty after a VAR review flagged a handball, before El Hadji Seck's late strike in stoppage time turned a nervy one-goal margin into a comfortable scoreline. The result papers over Cercle Brugge's territorial dominance and instead highlights Gent's efficiency - just 9 shots but 3 on target compared to the hosts' solitary shot on goal from open dominance, a damning reflection of Cercle Brugge's finishing on the day.
How entertaining was this match?
Tunde Akinsola from Cercle Brugge has a left-footed shot from the right side of the box, but it is blocked.
Foul committed by Royer Caicedo of Cercle Brugge.
Viggo Martens from Cercle Brugge is awarded a free kick on the left wing.
Foul committed by El Bachir Ngom of Gent.
Josué Vergara from Gent wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution for Cercle Brugge: Royer Caicedo comes on for Valy Konaté.
Substitution for Cercle Brugge: Abdoul Ouattara comes on for Steve Ngoura.
Cercle Brugge wins a corner after El Bachir Ngom concedes.
Attempt missed. Steve Ngoura from Cercle Brugge had a right-footed shot from the center of the box after a set piece situation.
Foul committed by Leonardo Lopes from Gent.
Ibrahim Diakité from Cercle Brugge is awarded a free kick in the attacking half.
El Hadji Seck from Gent commits a handball.
Lukas Mondele from Cercle Brugge misses an attempt with a right-footed shot from outside the box, sending it too high. He was assisted by Tunde Akinsola.
Substitution for Gent: Leonardo Lopes comes on for Mathias Delorge.
Goal! Tibe De Vlieger scores for Gent with a right-footed shot. The score is now Cercle Brugge 0, Gent 2.
Geoffrey Kondo of Cercle Brugge concedes a penalty for a handball in the penalty area.
VAR decision results in a penalty for Gent.
Substitution for Cercle Brugge: Krys Kouassi comes on for Lazare Amani.
Substitution for Cercle Brugge: Tunde Akinsola comes on for Emmanuel Kakou.
Foul committed by Gary Magnée of Cercle Brugge.
Mathias Delorge from Gent wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Lazare AmaniYellow CardLazare Amani of Cercle Brugge receives a yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul committed by Lazare Amani of Cercle Brugge.
El Hadji Seck from Gent wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Cercle Brugge wins a corner after El Hadji Seck concedes.
Substitution for Gent: László Bénes comes on for Michel-Ange Balikwisha.
Substitution for Gent: El Hadji Seck comes on for Momodou Sonko.
Steve Ngoura from Cercle Brugge is awarded a free kick in the defensive half.
El Bachir Ngom from Gent commits a foul.
Geoffrey Kondo from Cercle Brugge commits a foul.
Tibe De Vlieger from Gent is awarded a free kick in the defensive half.
Substitution for Cercle Brugge: Erick Nunes comes on for Lucas Michal.
Cercle Brugge is awarded a corner after Christian Burgess concedes.
Michel-Ange Balikwisha from Gent wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul committed by Valy Konaté of Cercle Brugge.
Lazare Amani from Cercle Brugge is awarded a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul committed by Michel-Ange Balikwisha of Gent.
Foul committed by Steve Ngoura of Cercle Brugge.
Siebe Van der Heyden from Gent wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt missed. Steve Ngoura from Cercle Brugge takes a right-footed shot from the center of the box, but it goes high and wide to the right. Gary Magnée provided the assist with a cross after a corner.
Cercle Brugge wins a corner after El Bachir Ngom concedes.
Steve Ngoura from Cercle Brugge has his right-footed shot from the right side of the box blocked.
Lazare Amani from Cercle Brugge is awarded a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul committed by Tibe De Vlieger from Gent.
Attempt missed. Valy Konaté from Cercle Brugge has a left-footed shot from outside the box that goes just a bit too high. He was assisted by Gary Magnée.
Tiago Araújo from Gent has a left-footed shot from outside the box, but it is blocked.
The second half begins with the score at Cercle Brugge 0, Gent 1.
Offside called against Cercle Brugge. Steve Ngoura is the player caught offside.
The first half ends with Cercle Brugge trailing Gent 1-0.
Fourth official has announced 0 minutes of added time.
Lazare Amani from Cercle Brugge wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul committed by Michel-Ange Balikwisha of Gent.
Offside called against Gent. Matties Volckaert is caught offside.
Foul committed by Steve Ngoura of Cercle Brugge.
Tibe De Vlieger from Gent is awarded a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul committed by Gary Magnée of Cercle Brugge.
Tiago Araújo from Gent wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Lucas Michal from Cercle Brugge commits a handball.
Josué Vergara from Gent has his right-footed shot from the right side of the box blocked.
Attempt missed. Tiago Araújo from Gent has a right-footed shot from the center of the box that goes too high. He was assisted by Josué Vergara.
Geoffrey Kondo from Cercle Brugge commits a foul.
Josué Vergara from Gent wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Lazare Amani from Cercle Brugge is awarded a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul committed by Tibe De Vlieger of Gent.
Attempt blocked. Momodou Sonko from Gent has a right-footed shot from outside the box that is blocked.
Geoffrey Kondo from Cercle Brugge commits a foul.
Christian Burgess from Gent is awarded a free kick in the defensive half.
Emmanuel Kakou scores an own goal for Cercle Brugge. The score is now Cercle Brugge 0, Gent 1.
Cercle Brugge is awarded a corner after El Bachir Ngom concedes it.
Cercle Brugge wins a corner after Siebe Van der Heyden concedes.
Attempt saved. Matties Volckaert from Gent has a left-footed shot from outside the box, but it's saved in the center of the goal by Gaëtan Coucke from Cercle Brugge. The assist comes from Christian Burgess.
Momodou Sonko's right-footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. He was assisted by Michel-Ange Balikwisha.
Lazare Amani from Cercle Brugge commits a foul.
El Bachir Ngom from Gent wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt blocked. Josué Vergara (Gent) header from the centre of the box is blocked.
Christian Burgess from Gent commits a foul.
Steve Ngoura from Cercle Brugge is awarded a free kick on the left wing.
Foul committed by Tiago Araújo of Gent.
Viggo Martens from Cercle Brugge is awarded a free kick in the defensive half.
Valy Konaté of Cercle Brugge wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul committed by Matties Volckaert of Gent.
Tibe De Vlieger from Gent is awarded a free kick on the right wing.
Foul committed by Lucas Michal of Cercle Brugge.
First half begins.
