Club Brugge claimed a narrow 3-1 victory over Sint-Truidense VV at the Jan Breydel Stadium, powered by a hat-trick from forward Nicolo Tresoldi that briefly lifted the reigning champions to the top of the Jupiler Pro League standings, according to Voetbalkrant.com.
Tresoldi Strikes Twice Before Halftime to Break Open a Scrappy Match
For the opening forty minutes of the contest, the home side struggled to turn their early dominance into goals. Goalkeeper Yann Sommer nearly handed the visitors an early advantage in the first quarter-hour when he lost possession under pressure to Die, who squared for Ishiwatari. Ishiwatari fired toward an empty net before a retreating Sommer recovered to block the shot, drawing audible groans from the home supporters. Moments later, STVV’s Ilias Sebaoui dragged an effort just wide.
🚨 Nicolò Tresoldi scores from the spot. Another shock goal.🇮🇹 Inter 0-1 Club Brugge 🇧🇪 https://t.co/05XzmbQEQf
Just as the first half seemed destined for a scoreless deadlock, Club Brugge broke through in the 41st minute. Carlos Forbs initiated the move down the right flank, feeding Kyriani Sabbe, who delivered a low cross for Tresoldi to drive past the goalkeeper. Just two minutes later, Forbs exploited open space on another rapid counter-attack, sliding a pass to an unmarked Tresoldi to double the lead before the interval.
Sebaoui Converts Penalty After VAR Review Before Tresoldi Secures the Points
Sint-Truiden refused to fold after the restart. Following a video assistant referee review that detected a handball inside the penalty area by substitute Mamadou Diakhon, Sebaoui stepped up in the 55th minute to convert from the spot and cut the deficit to 2-1.
The visitors pressed for an equalizer, but Club Brugge weathered the pressure before putting the result beyond doubt in the 75th minute. A fluid passing sequence involving Diakhon, Hugo Vetlesen, and Forbs culminated in Forbs driving down the flank and cutting back for Tresoldi, who completed his three-goal haul with a close-range finish. Shogo Taniguchi added a late header for STVV in the third minute of stoppage time to make it 3-2, leaving the final whistle to follow shortly after a heated altercation that saw Robert-Jan Vanwesemael receive a red card.
Standings Context and Upcoming Fixtures
With the win, Tresoldi moved level with Westerlo striker Josue Bassette at the summit of the league scoring charts, both players holding seven goals through nine matches. The victory follows Club Brugge’s European momentum, which included Champions League wins over Inter and Lens. Meanwhile, STVV remains mired in a domestic winless run, having last tasted victory in the competition on September 5 against La Louvière.
