Belgian Pro League 2020/2021: Club Brugge vs Cercle Brugge

Matchday seven of the Belgian Pro League saw the first Brugge derby of the season. Former EFL and EPL manager Paul Clement’s Cercle Brugge have historically struggled against their rivals Club Brugge, but they managed to put in a battling performance, despite losing 2-1. While Club Brugge (from now on referred to as just Brugge in this article) have disappointed slightly to start the season, Cercle have played far better than they did during the 2019/20 campaign.

This tactical analysis will look at how Brugge looked to use the width to create space inside for their two creative midfielders. This analysis will also look at how Cercle set up with tactics that looked to take the game to the former champions, rather than just sitting back and trying and play on the counter. Finally, how Brugge were able to win the game because of Cercle’s zonal marking will also be examined.

Lineups

Home side Brugge, themselves managed by Phillipe Clement, went for a 4-1-4-1 formation, with Simon Mignolet in goal. The back four consisted of Clinton Mata at right-back and Frederico Ricca at left-back. Simon Deli partnered Odilon Kossounou in the heart of the defence, while Mats Rits was the holding midfielder, behind the duo of Hans Vanaken and Ruud Vormer. The youthful talent of Krepin Diatta and Charles De Ketelaere were the wide players, while Czech striker Michael Kremencik led the line.

For the other Clement, Cercle lined up in their now usual 4-3-3 formation. Thomas Didilon was the keeper, with Naomichi Ueda and Jean Marcelin as the centre-back pairing. Dimitar Velkovski and Robbe Decostere were the full-backs. The midfield three was made up of Franck Kanoute in the holding role, with Kevin Hoggas and Dino Hotic as the creative outlets. Kylian Hazard and Anthony Musaba were the wide men, looking to support Ike Ugbo as the striker.