Bafana Bafana star Percy Tau watched from the bench as Club Brugge crashed out of the UEFA Champions League after only claiming a point at Turkish Galatasaray on Tuesday.
Nigerian-born Emmanuel Dennis, Lois Openda and Senegal’s Krepin Diatta led the visitors’ attack as the Belgians targeted victory.
Galatasaray wasted no time to get the breakthrough as Adem Buyuk flicked a low cross from the left by Omer Bayram into the air before volleying into the bottom corner from close-range.
Brugge attempted a response within eight minutes but Dennis’ industrious nature from the right-hand side yielded no fruits as the final outcome went straight to Fernando Muslera.
The Turkish champions battled to hang on following the half-hour spell and moments to halftime, as Diatta broke down the right to set up Openda who pushed Muslera to point-blank save.
Brugge changed tactics at the start of the second half and introduced the game’s first change in Charles De Ketelaere who replaced Mats Rits.
The visitors continued throwing numbers on the front foot in the final quarter as Bayram clipped delivery to Buyuk at the far post, who saw his effort bounced over the top after hitting the ground.
David Okereke set in for his strike-partner Openda 77 minutes gone, as Philippe Clement went for more firepower in pursuit of the equaliser. The change instigated the equaliser which Diatta cushioned home after cutting in from the right-hand side to curl into the far corner in added time.
Diatta then went from hero to villain as he received a second booking and dismissal for removing his shirt whilst celebrating while Clinton Mata followed suit for kicking the corner flag during the celebration.
The result ends both sides’ quest to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League, although a place in the Europa League is still up for grabs.
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Source – SoccerLaduma
