Club Brugge suffered its first defeat of the Jupiler Pro League season on Sunday, losing 2-1 away to AA Gent after a red card for Carlos Forbs. The club now sits second in the table with 9 points from 4 games, three points behind leaders Charleroi.
According to reporters from HLN Voetbal, Carlos Forbs received a straight red card for an unnecessary reaction late in the second half. The Portuguese winger, signed for a substantial fee this summer, was dismissed with the score level at 1-1. His departure left Club Brugge with ten men, paving the way for Ibrahima Cissé's winning goal for the Buffaloes.
Forbs's action was later heavily criticized by coach Ivan Leko. "You see that kind of thing in the U16s, not with players worth 30 million euros," Leko told reporters. The red card led to the first goal conceded this season by goalkeeper Yann Sommer and Club Brugge, who had previously not let in a single goal.
Ivan Leko voiced strong criticism of his team's style of play after the match, separate from the Forbs incident. The Croat stated his team had played the wrong match and focused too much on possession without creating real chances. Club Brugge had sixty percent possession in the second half and made nearly 700 passes, but managed only three shots on target.
"You don't win matches in Belgium with tiki-taka," Leko emphasized in his press conference. He indicated he had made this observation during the previous match against city rivals Cercle Brugge. The defeat interrupts a run of three victories and puts performances under scrutiny. The full season statistics, with 8 goals scored and 2 conceded, can be found on our stats page.
The first defeat means Club Brugge's perfect start is over, but with 9 points from 4 matches the club remains firmly in the upper reaches of the table. Their recent form is LWWW. The team has a goal difference of +6.
Attention now quickly turns to the next assignment. In four days, on September 4th, Club Brugge travels to face Lommel United, who currently sit eighth. That match is key to immediately making amends for the loss and preventing the gap to Charleroi from growing. The full schedule can be consulted in our fixtures calendar.
HLN Voetbal also reported this week that Christiaan Ravych, a youth product of Club Brugge, is leaving Cercle Brugge for Racing Genk. The 24-year-old centre-back, who made the switch to green-and-black in 2021, played over 100 matches for Cercle. The deal is reportedly all but complete.
Simultaneously, Cercle Brugge, the city rival, lost 1-0 to newcomers Lommel SK. That result leaves Cercle without a win this season. Developments at the Jan Breydelstraat and the current league standings can always be followed via our standings page. Club Brugge's next match is on September 4th against Lommel United.
