Club Brugge secured a key victory in the Jupiler Pro League on Saturday. Nicky Hayen's side defeated Racing Genk 3-0 in an animated top-of-the-table clash at the Jan Breydelstadion.
The home side took an early lead. Carlos Forbs opened the scoring after a quarter of an hour, assisted by Hans Vanaken. After the break, Club Brugge sealed the match with two set-piece goals in a five-minute spell. Around the hour mark, Lee Han-beom made it 2-0 from a Joaquin Seys free-kick. Five minutes later, captain Brandon Mechele headed in a corner from the same Seys. "Club Brugge is back on the heels of Union and KAA Gent with a convincing 3-0 win," was the summary after the final whistle.
Genk, who were unbeaten in five matches before this game, offered little in response. Noah Adedeji-Sternberg and Magnus Erenbjerg were denied by goalkeeper Yann Sommer in the first half. "Sommer comes up with a fine save," was the call after one of his stops. After halftime, Wouter Vrancken's team had a goal from Tresoldi disallowed for offside. Club Brugge keeper Nordin Brughmans kept a clean sheet with saves from Jan Virgili and substitute Diakhon.
Table and stats
The win is a significant step for Club Brugge in the title race. The team now sits fourth in the Jupiler Pro League with fifteen points from six games. The gap to leaders KAA Gent has been cut to four points. The side has scored twelve goals and conceded only three this season. The current top scorer is N. Tresoldi with three goals in six appearances.
For Genk, the defeat is a tough one. It was their sixth consecutive league loss against Club Brugge. Genk's last league win against Blauw-Zwart dates back to 11 August 2024. The Limburg side slides further down the table after this sixth straight loss.
Club Brugge now heads into the international break in good spirits. The next assignment is an away match at RAAL La Louvière on 10 October. The team is currently on a run of two consecutive league wins, following earlier victories against Antwerp and Lommel.
The report in full is at Sporza Voetbal
