How Club Brugge managed to tame the mighty Red Bulls
Red Bull Salzburg returned to European action this week with their tie against Club Brugge in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 tie. The Austrian champions overcame a potentially tough group stage encounter beating the likes of RB Leipzig and Celtic to progress as group winners.
Having avoided a tougher draw, Salzburg would have fancied their chances against the Belgian club to complete the straight forward task of progressing to the next round, but Brugge were not going to roll over so easily. This feature will dissect and examine the different tactical aspects that were key in this game and how Brugge managed to silence the Red Bulls.
Red Bull Salzburg
Diadie Sammasekou and Xaver Schlager bring stability and protection in midfield while Hannes Wolf and Zlatko Junuzovic supplied industry and creativity to support the two strikers in Fredrik Gulbrandsen and Moanes Dabbur. The two strikers have been in scintillating form for Salzburg in the Europa League this season with 10 goals between them in the group stages. Their clinical finishing was expected to decide the outcome of the match.
Club Brugge
The Belgian club lined up in a 3-5-2 formation with the aim to try to remain compact in midfield and protect the defence whilst being able to counter-attack by winning the ball deep in their own half. Ivan Leko wanted his side to keep it tight and battle Salzburg in midfield to try and take the game to them. When the opportunity arose, the two full-backs would supply width for the two strikers.
Club Brugge produced a performance that no one would have expected. In beating Salzburg, they inflicted their first defeat of the season making the tie a much closer affair than originally anticipated. They salvaged a draw against Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund earlier in the campaign showing their capabilities.
First-half analysis
The first half took its time to settle and chances were snapped at by both sides. Even after the first goal, the game kept a similar pace with Brugge owning the majority of possession but were far less accurate than Red Bull Salzburg who had four shots on target. Both teams were looking to press and win the ball in midfield to attack with their wing-backs.
Brugge did well to disrupt Salzburg’s flow in the first half as they limit their chances. However, the first goal was something of a classic by Salzburg as they caught Brugge’s defensive line higher up. One long ball into the left channel by Andreas Ulmer to Zlatko Junuzović resulted in a goal.
The first goal seemed to have sparked some life into Brugge who suddenly started to play a quicker passing game and tried to utilise their wing-backs more, bringing Wesley Moraes into play with his height and linking up with Hans Vanaken. The 6″2′ Brazilian striker was fundamental to their play throughout and not only used as a battering ram but dropped deep and linked up with the midfield. This coincided with the wing-backs attempting more crosses (eight) as the half wore on, making wide play and set-pieces more critical in the second-half.
Second-half analysis
Brugge began the second half much more quickly than the first. The tempo was visibly higher and they moved the ball around much more energetically. They made two changes at the break bringing on Benoît Poulain and Krépin Diatta for Sofyan Amrabat and Dion Cools. These changes contributed to Brugge’s resurgence in the second-half.
Substitute magic
As you can see with his touch and heat map above, Dennis spent the majority of his time in the final third. Krépin Diatta’s introduction brought a lot more attacking impetus down the opposite flank as his industrious running stretched the Salzburg full-backs.
As the half wore on, Brugge gained a better foothold in the game and started to dictate play making it look as though Salzburg were the chasing team. A goal was coming and in the 64th minute, Brugge struck gold.
Wesley snipes
The winning goal came after a period of extended pressure by Club Brugge. The home team had used the momentum from the first goal to keep the pressure on and not allow Salzburg to rest, exploiting the spaces they started leaving.
Quick recovery
Red Bull Salzburg would have been shocked by the result but more so by their performance after Brugge inflicted their first defeat of the 2018/19 season. They will still be considered favourites to progress but will need a near flawless performance next week to ensure they make it through.
Marco Rose will have to remind the players that the tie is not over yet and still salvageable but no complacency can creep in otherwise their hopes of bettering their semi-final finish will be dashed for yet another season. After losing Amadou Haidara to RB Leipzig in the January transfer window, it is only a matter of time before Europe’s heavyweights come in for their talented squad causing Salzburg to rebuild once more.
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