Captain Hans Vanaken led from the front as Club Brugge recorded a 4-1 thumping of Monaco at the Jan Breydel Stadium on Thursday to underline its potential for a good run in the UEFA Champions League this season.
Vanaken scored one goal and laid on another as the home side was superb in attack, with Nicolo Tresoldi, Raphael Onyedika and 19-year-old Mamadou Diakhon also on target. Ansu Fati netted a late consolation for the visitor.
Monaco had a chance from the penalty spot with the score at 0-0 after home goalkeeper Simon Mignolet was adjudged to have brought down Mika Biereth.
But the 37-year-old Mignolet, who had to leave the field shortly afterwards with a groin problem, saved Maghnes Akliouche’s effort from 12 yards.
Tresoldi gave Brugge the lead in the 32nd minute from Vanaken’s clever pass into the box, and Onyedika turned the ball into the net from close range after being teed up by Carlos Forbs for a second.
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Vanaken’s trademark powerful shot into the net from the edge of the box made the scoreline 3-0 at halftime, and teenager Diakhon netted a fourth with 15 minutes remaining, his first goal for the club.
Eintracht Frankfurt hammers Galatasaray
Hosts Eintracht Frankfurt scored four times in 29 minutes to bounce back from a goal down and hammer Galatasaray 5-1 in its Champions League opener.
The Turks had hit Frankfurt on the break with Yunus Akgun completing the move from a Leroy Sane assist in the eighth minute. Germany international Sane, who joined from Bayern Munich this season, became the only player in Champions League history to play for four or more clubs and score or assist on his debut for each of them.
Frankfurt, competing for only the second time in the Champions League main round, struggled to break through Galatasaray’s defence until a defensive error from Akgun in the 37th minute. Ritsu Doan pounced, charged into the box, and Davinson Sanchez deflected the Japanese winger’s shot in for an own goal.
The host took the lead in first-half stoppage time when 19-year-old Turkey international Can Uzun scored a superb goal on his Champions League debut after fine control and a quick turn in the box. The host netted again before halftime, with Jonathan Burkardt’s well-timed glancing header putting it 3-1 up.
With the visitor forced to take more risks after the break, Frankfurt found space, and Burkardt completed his dream Champions League debut with another header in the 66th for his second goal of the evening. Ansgar Knauff completed the rout in the 75th.
Frankfurt next travels to Atletico Madrid on September 30 when Galatasaray hosts Liverpool.
Published on Sep 19, 2025
