Club Brugge bounce back to beat Sturm Graz in brave Champions League display
Having won just five of their previous 25 home matches in Europe, it was no shock to see Sturm trail at the interval.
But what came as more of a surprise was the manner in which the first goal arrived, as Christos Tzolis picked his spot in the top-right corner of Sturm’s goal from the far-left corner of the penalty area.
It was just reward for Brugge though, who dominated their Austrian opponents either side of the first-half’s only goal.
Given their dismal record at the Merkur Arena, Sturm knew that their deficit could easily be worse.
But a double change sprung by manager Christian Ilzer at the hour mark changed the momentum of play.
One of the substitutes, Tomi Horvat, almost made an immediate impact, by fashioning a crossing opportunity after a lung-busting run.
Much to Horvat’s frustration, however, he only picked out the palms of Simon Mignolet.
Tochi Chukwuani also came close for the home side, but his header crept just wide of the far-left post.
From there, a lack of quality in the final third continued to plague the Austrian champions, while at the opposite end of the pitch, Michał Skoras’ cross-cum-shot evaded both his Brugge team-mates and the upright of the Sturm goal.
The Graz-based outfit did eventually register their first shot on target of the contest via Niklas Geyrhofer, but their efforts proved too little too late, as they moved to two defeats from two matches for this season’s UCL.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Christos Tzolis (Club Brugge)
