What. A. Contest. Anderlecht is also in the quarterfinals of the Conference League after a thrilling match against Villarreal. The Purple & White stayed straight in Spain for a long time thanks to a phenomenal Bart Verbruggen. Fifteen minutes before the end, substitute Islam Slimani scored the only goal of the evening. The exclamation mark behind a perfect evening for Belgian football!
Villarreal – Anderlecht in a nutshell:
- Key moment: Fifteen minutes before the end, Islam Slimani plays itself into the hearts of the Anderlecht supporters a little more. After a wide-ranging attack, he rounds off Murillo’s cross very well. Another very important goal of the Algerian winter purchase.
- Man of the match: At Villarreal they will curse one man wholeheartedly, the unbeatable Bart Verbruggen. The Dutchman piled up the saves and unpacked in the 93rd minute with an unlikely leg sweep on an attempt by Jackson.
- Remarkable: Anderlecht is in a European quarter final for the first time since 2017. The Purple & White then settled in the 1/8th finals of the Europa League with the Cypriot APOEL Nicosia and lost honorably against Manchester United in the quarter finals. At home it became 1-1 and at Old Trafford Anderlecht only broke in extra time.
Anderlecht folds, but does not crack
On paper, Anderlecht had little chance against Villarreal, who were semi-finalists in the Champions League last year, but after the great 1-1 draw in the Lotto Arena, the Purple & White’s belief in a stunt had only grown. Villarreal clearly wanted to crush that hope as quickly as possible and immediately put Anderlecht under heavy pressure with a hellish opening offensive.
Baena missed an excellent chance at 1-0 after barely a minute, the start of a true surprise. Morales and Gerard Moreno were also brought into position, but Anderlecht always escaped with a fright. Even when Chukwueze outwitted Verbruggen with a place ball, Debast was able to head the ball away on the goal line.
Halfway through the first half, Anderlecht came under the pressure. After a too short back pass from Foyth, Reina was just able to stop Amuzu. Immediately afterwards, the goalkeeper himself fumbled on a back pass. Raman got the ball in front of the empty goal, but both Verschaeren and Dreyer arrived too late. The Purple & White could also do it without help. Dreyer launched Raman in the box, but Baena blocked his shot at the last minute.
The final phase was again for El Submarino Amarillo. Verbruggen once again had to show his ability on a far bang from the ubiquitous Baena and just before half-time the Purple & White crawled all the way through the eye of the needle. Chukwueze also collided with an excellent save by Verbruggen and Gerard Moreno hit the crossbar in the rebound.
Slimani and Verbruggen make the difference
Anderlecht miraculously started the second half 0-0 and almost immediately took the lead. Reina misjudged a corner kick from Verschaeren, but the surprised Murillo aimed over the empty goal from close range. Villarreal’s answer was not long in coming, a crossed shot from Alberto Moreno went just wide.
Verbruggen continued to play the tiles of the roof. With a double save he kept Anderlecht afloat once again. The goalkeeper had to release the ball after a tight long shot from Cuenca, but had a wonderful reflex ready for Gerard Moreno’s rebound. Still, Villarreal failed to develop the same pressure as in the first half. At Anderlecht they threw Slimani into battle and that turned out to be a golden move.
Because fifteen minutes before the end, the improbable happened. After a long drawn-out attack, Murillo brought the ball low in front of goal and at the far post the inevitable Slimani simply tapped the ball in. Villarreal suddenly had to go full throttle, but couldn’t get the engine going. Verbruggen had to distinguish himself twice on attempts by Lo Celso and Foyth.
In the extra time it got very hot for Anderlecht. Alberto Moreno put the ball back on Jackson and he seemed to make it 1-1 up close, but the very strong Verbruggen was again the lifesaver with a fantastic leg sweep. Anderlecht held on and is in a European quarter final for the first time since 2017.
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