Latest news with #Vanaken
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
The right winger who Rangers must shut down to reach Champions League
However, the 32-year-old, who pitched in with the hosts' final goal in the last minute of regulation time to secure a 4-2 aggregate triumph, was less than enamoured with the overall performance. 'We'll have to raise our game against Rangers,' said the Blue Blacks captain. 'We have already played against them in pre-season and drawn. But this will be a completely different story.' Read more: Vanaken's cautious words suggest that his team, very much like Russell Martin's side, have not produced the sort of form of which they are capable of at this early stage in the new campaign despite their highly impressive midweek victory. Could the presence of one man in their starting line-up at Ibrox next Tuesday evening and then over in Bruges the following week, though, mean the next two encounters between the Belgian and Scottish giants have a different outcome to their friendly tussle in Govan at the start of last month? Fans of Club Brugge, who drew with Celtic at Parkhead in the Champions League league phase last term and qualified for the last 16 following an emphatic knockout round play-off win over Atalanta of Italy, are hopeful that summer acquisition Carlos Forbs can elevate them to a higher level in the coming months. The Portuguese winger has struggled to fulfil his vast potential in his embryonic career to date. He failed to make the breakthrough to the first team at Manchester City after eight years in the youth ranks at the Etihad Stadium and was sold to Ajax for €14m two years ago. But he hardly featured at the Johan Cruyff Arena and returned to England last year when he was farmed out to Wolves on loan. He was involved in 10 Premier League games during his time at Molineux. However, no bid was forthcoming and he returned to Amsterdam in May. (Image: SNS) The chance to get the regular first team football with Club Brugge this season was appealing to the 21-year-old and he agreed, after helping Portugal to make it through to the quarter-finals of the European Under-21 Championship in Slovakia in June, to a €6m transfer to Belgium last month. His manager Nicky Hayen, who has lifted the Belgian Cup and Belgian Super Cup this year to make amends for surrendering the Pro League title to Royal Union Saint-Gilloise, has stressed that it will take Forbs time to get up to speed. But his individual display against Salzburg strongly suggested that when he does his new employers will have a potent attacking weapon on their hands. The statistics told the story at the end of 90 breathless minutes. He attempted the most dribbles (eight), succeeded with the most dribbles (five) and had the most touches in the opposition box (nine). The highlight of his outstanding showing was the goal he scored with seven minutes of regulation time remaining. He intercepted a pass from Jacob Rasmussen, ran half the length of the park and slotted beyond goalkeeper Alexander Schlager from a tight angle to make it 2-2 on the night and 3-2 overall. The home supporters in the 23,736-strong crowd erupted. A star was born. The new hero received a standing ovation when he was replaced late on. His new team mates were effusive in their praise following the final whistle. Read more: "We know his qualities,' said Vanaken. 'He's fast and he can make moves with both his left and his right foot. You really can't defend against him. Forbs is an absolute weapon for us." Joaquin Seys - who started a remarkable second half fightback by the home favourites, who had fallen 2-0 down and 2-1 behind on aggregate in the first-half, when he netted on the hour mark - is convinced that more, much more, is to come to from the lightning quick and skilful wide boy. 'He's a fantastic player,' said the left-back. 'We're going to see more great things from him." The sudden emergence of Forbs should be a concern for former Scotland centre-half Martin as left-back has been something of a problem position in his side during the early weeks of his tenure. He has played Jefte there in Rangers' last three games. But the Brazilian winger slipped just before half-time in the third qualifying round match against Viktoria Plzen in the Czech Republic on Tuesday night, failed to clear a high ball which he should have dealt with easily and allowed Rafiu Durosinmi to pull one back for the hosts. (Image: SNS) In the three games before that, against Panathinaikos of Greece and Motherwell at Fir Park, it was Max Aarons who was given the nod in the specialist position in the back four. But the Bournemouth loanee prefers to be deployed on the right flank and it showed. With Ridvan Yilmaz locked in talks with Besiktas in his native Turkey and a move back to his homeland looking likely in the coming days, it is not immediately apparent to supporters who Martin, under mounting pressure despite leading his side through to the Champions League play-offs and to within touch of a multi-million pound pay day, can deploy at left back to nullify the threat posed by Forbs. Hayen took a gamble playing the Sintra-born forward on Tuesday night and was rewarded for his bravery. He is, then, likely to take a chance on the youngster again in both legs of the play-off. Rangers will need to be ready or they will fail to progress to the league phase for the first time in their history. 'It worked out well,' said the Club Brugge manager. 'Ultimately, it was the right decision. He is not fully fit yet and ideally we would only use him for 45 minutes or so. But we saw his qualities and he was able to make a difference.'
The National
5 days ago
- Sport
- The National
The right winger who Rangers must shut down to reach Champions League
The experienced Belgium international midfielder, a veteran of many European campaigns during his 11 seasons as a player at the Jan Breydel Stadium, was certainly elated with the hard-fought victory over the formidable Austrians. However, the 32-year-old, who pitched in with the hosts' final goal in the last minute of regulation time to secure a 4-2 aggregate triumph, was less than enamoured with the overall performance. 'We'll have to raise our game against Rangers,' said the Blue Blacks captain. 'We have already played against them in pre-season and drawn. But this will be a completely different story.' Read more: Vanaken's cautious words suggest that his team, very much like Russell Martin's side, have not produced the sort of form of which they are capable of at this early stage in the new campaign despite their highly impressive midweek victory. Could the presence of one man in their starting line-up at Ibrox next Tuesday evening and then over in Bruges the following week, though, mean the next two encounters between the Belgian and Scottish giants have a different outcome to their friendly tussle in Govan at the start of last month? Fans of Club Brugge, who drew with Celtic at Parkhead in the Champions League league phase last term and qualified for the last 16 following an emphatic knockout round play-off win over Atalanta of Italy, are hopeful that summer acquisition Carlos Forbs can elevate them to a higher level in the coming months. The Portuguese winger has struggled to fulfil his vast potential in his embryonic career to date. He failed to make the breakthrough to the first team at Manchester City after eight years in the youth ranks at the Etihad Stadium and was sold to Ajax for €14m two years ago. But he hardly featured at the Johan Cruyff Arena and returned to England last year when he was farmed out to Wolves on loan. He was involved in 10 Premier League games during his time at Molineux. However, no bid was forthcoming and he returned to Amsterdam in May. (Image: SNS) The chance to get the regular first team football with Club Brugge this season was appealing to the 21-year-old and he agreed, after helping Portugal to make it through to the quarter-finals of the European Under-21 Championship in Slovakia in June, to a €6m transfer to Belgium last month. His manager Nicky Hayen, who has lifted the Belgian Cup and Belgian Super Cup this year to make amends for surrendering the Pro League title to Royal Union Saint-Gilloise, has stressed that it will take Forbs time to get up to speed. But his individual display against Salzburg strongly suggested that when he does his new employers will have a potent attacking weapon on their hands. The statistics told the story at the end of 90 breathless minutes. He attempted the most dribbles (eight), succeeded with the most dribbles (five) and had the most touches in the opposition box (nine). The highlight of his outstanding showing was the goal he scored with seven minutes of regulation time remaining. He intercepted a pass from Jacob Rasmussen, ran half the length of the park and slotted beyond goalkeeper Alexander Schlager from a tight angle to make it 2-2 on the night and 3-2 overall. The home supporters in the 23,736-strong crowd erupted. A star was born. The new hero received a standing ovation when he was replaced late on. His new team mates were effusive in their praise following the final whistle. Read more: "We know his qualities,' said Vanaken. 'He's fast and he can make moves with both his left and his right foot. You really can't defend against him. Forbs is an absolute weapon for us." Joaquin Seys - who started a remarkable second half fightback by the home favourites, who had fallen 2-0 down and 2-1 behind on aggregate in the first-half, when he netted on the hour mark - is convinced that more, much more, is to come to from the lightning quick and skilful wide boy. 'He's a fantastic player,' said the left-back. 'We're going to see more great things from him." The sudden emergence of Forbs should be a concern for former Scotland centre-half Martin as left-back has been something of a problem position in his side during the early weeks of his tenure. He has played Jefte there in Rangers' last three games. But the Brazilian winger slipped just before half-time in the third qualifying round match against Viktoria Plzen in the Czech Republic on Tuesday night, failed to clear a high ball which he should have dealt with easily and allowed Rafiu Durosinmi to pull one back for the hosts. (Image: SNS) In the three games before that, against Panathinaikos of Greece and Motherwell at Fir Park, it was Max Aarons who was given the nod in the specialist position in the back four. But the Bournemouth loanee prefers to be deployed on the right flank and it showed. With Ridvan Yilmaz locked in talks with Besiktas in his native Turkey and a move back to his homeland looking likely in the coming days, it is not immediately apparent to supporters who Martin, under mounting pressure despite leading his side through to the Champions League play-offs and to within touch of a multi-million pound pay day, can deploy at left back to nullify the threat posed by Forbs. Hayen took a gamble playing the Sintra-born forward on Tuesday night and was rewarded for his bravery. He is, then, likely to take a chance on the youngster again in both legs of the play-off. Rangers will need to be ready or they will fail to progress to the league phase for the first time in their history. 'It worked out well,' said the Club Brugge manager. 'Ultimately, it was the right decision. He is not fully fit yet and ideally we would only use him for 45 minutes or so. But we saw his qualities and he was able to make a difference.'
The National
6 days ago
- Sport
- The National
Rangers sent Club Brugge warning after pre-season warm-up
And the Belgian international reckons both sides can forget about their friendly at Ibrox last month. Rangers face the Belgian cracks for a place in the league stages of the lucrative Champions League. Club Brugge produced a stunning comeback from two goals down to eliminate RB Salzburg at home. Vanaken was the hero by scoring the winning goal three minutes into injury time to seal a 3-2 win. But Vanaken reckons they have to take their games to new levels to see off Russell Martin's side, who won through despite a 2-1 loss to Viktoria Plzen. He said: "I think it will be a similar match to the one against Celtic last season, where we drew 1-1 in Glasgow. "That worked out well for us then, although we'll have to raise our game against Rangers. "I know we played at Ibrox in a pre-season friendly, but I don't think you can compare it. "The atmosphere in their stadium will be fantastic; that's no secret. We'll have to handle that." Read more: And he's pinpointed his club's danger man - former Manchester City and Ajax winger Carlos Forbs. He added: "I think we all know his qualities. "He's incredibly fast and has great movement. He can play both on the left and right wings, which is practically impossible to defend. "He's a real weapon for us." Forbs has already targeted getting past Rangers to reach the riches of the Champions League. He said: "We have a couple of tough games ahead against Rangers. "I still have to improve physically too, I think. "My dream is to play in the Champions League here. "Club Brugge are the biggest team in Belgium. I had plenty of offers to go elsewhere this summer, but once they asked, it was an easy decision to sign here."
The Herald Scotland
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Rangers sent Club Brugge warning after pre-season warm-up
Rangers face the Belgian cracks for a place in the league stages of the lucrative Champions League. Club Brugge produced a stunning comeback from two goals down to eliminate RB Salzburg at home. Vanaken was the hero by scoring the winning goal three minutes into injury time to seal a 3-2 win. But Vanaken reckons they have to take their games to new levels to see off Russell Martin's side, who won through despite a 2-1 loss to Viktoria Plzen. He said: "I think it will be a similar match to the one against Celtic last season, where we drew 1-1 in Glasgow. "That worked out well for us then, although we'll have to raise our game against Rangers. "I know we played at Ibrox in a pre-season friendly, but I don't think you can compare it. "The atmosphere in their stadium will be fantastic; that's no secret. We'll have to handle that." Read more: And he's pinpointed his club's danger man - former Manchester City and Ajax winger Carlos Forbs. He added: "I think we all know his qualities. "He's incredibly fast and has great movement. He can play both on the left and right wings, which is practically impossible to defend. "He's a real weapon for us." Forbs has already targeted getting past Rangers to reach the riches of the Champions League. He said: "We have a couple of tough games ahead against Rangers. "I still have to improve physically too, I think. "My dream is to play in the Champions League here. "Club Brugge are the biggest team in Belgium. I had plenty of offers to go elsewhere this summer, but once they asked, it was an easy decision to sign here."
New York Times
04-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Champions League Briefing – A stunning goal-line clearance and are strikerless Arsenal better suited to the UCL?
Jurrien Timber scored Arsenal's first goal in three games in the 18th minute of their Champions League last 16 first-leg game away to PSV. Then Arsenal scored another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another. That's seven if you lost count — the first time they have hit that number under Mikel Arteta. Advertisement It's a welcome break from the Premier League for the north Londoners after their recent slip-ups, and Liverpool's incessant brilliance, have seemingly taken the league title out of their reach. Elsewhere, Tyrone Mings helped out Aston Villa with one of the most remarkable clearances ever, Rodrygo continued to prove Jude Bellingham's 'most gifted' shout correct, and Kylian Mbappe's little brother got his first full taste of Champions League football. Here, The Athletic's Elias Burke analyses all the key moments from Tuesday's Champions League action. Tuesday's last 16, first leg results Club Brugge 1-3 Aston Villa Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Lille PSV 1-7 Arsenal Real Madrid 2-1 Atletico Madrid On the list of players who'd produce something extraordinary for Villa's trip to Club Brugge on Tuesday, Mings' name might not have been far down the list given what happened on their last trip. On their last visit to the Jan Breydel Stadium in this season's league phase, they lost 1-0 after Mings inexplicably picked up the ball inside the Villa box and Hans Vanaken dispatched the resulting penalty. After that game, Emery described it as 'completely strange' and the 'biggest mistake we've made in my career as a coach'. Mings was again doing extraordinary things in his own box on Tuesday but this time he stepped up with arguably the most remarkable goal-line clearance in Champions League history. With the score level at 1-1 in the second half, Brugge winger Christos Tzolis whipped a cross from the left wing over the heads of the Villa defenders and towards midfielder Hans Vanaken, who was waiting to head the ball in at the far post. Vanaken did everything right from a forward's perspective: he headed the ball downwards to avoid it flying over the bar and into the direction from which it came, leaving goalkeeper Emi Martinez stranded between the sticks. Just when it appeared Vanaken's header was set to nestle into the bottom corner, putting the home side ahead on the night, Mings flicked his left boot up and somehow managed to divert it off target. The clearance was so spectacular that the referee blew for a goal kick despite Vanaken's protests, suggesting he believed it too improbable that such a clearance was possible. Such a feat of athleticism is even more impressive, given Mings has had pretty horrid luck with injuries. The 31-year-old has sustained two ACL injuries in his professional career, most recently sidelining him for 445 days. He returned last October and has since re-established himself as a key player in Unai Emery's defence. If this clearance is anything to go by, I'd say he's fully recovered. BEST GOAL-LINE CLEARANCE EVER??? 😱 Tyrone Mings stops Hans Vanaken from giving Brugge the lead in SPECTACULAR style 🤯 📺 Watch the Champions League LIVE on @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK — Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 4, 2025 Villa went on to win the game 3-1, thanks to an own goal and a late Marco Asensio penalty. With that first game in mind, Mings is probably about even. After failing to win each of their past two league games, falling further behind Liverpool in the Premier League title race, Arsenal did their aspirations of going deep in the Champions League this season no harm, demolishing PSV 7-1. No bad for a team robbed of their best attackers by injury. It was the first time Arsenal had scored seven goals under Mikel Arteta, which, incidentally, makes them the first team in Champions League history to score seven or more goals away from home in a knockout stage match. On the other hand, it equalled PSV's heaviest defeat in their 112-year history. No wins in their past four games domestically suggests it's not a vintage side, but Arsenal are hardly at their highest ebb either. Advertisement The gap at the top of England's top flight has now extended to 13 points, and it would take a very unlikely turn of events for Arteta's side to claim their first league title since 2004. But, judging by the quality of their performance in the Netherlands, their strikerless system may be better suited to success in Europe anyway. If you had flicked on the Arsenal game just before Timber opened the scoring, you'd be forgiven for thinking they were setting up to defend a counter-attack rather than score from one. Declan Rice, Mikel Merino, and Timber are not best-known for their goalscoring qualities (though Merino's poaching ability is underrated), but it was Rice's cross, hung up to the far post, that Timber headed in. Seventeen-year-old prodigy Ethan Nwaneri got in on the act next, firing into the roof of the net before Merino extended the lead before halftime. Martin Odegaard, whose lack of output on the offensive end has been highlighted in recent weeks, extended the lead in the second half. Between that goal, his second and the team's sixth, Leandro Trossard dinked over the keeper from close range. Anne Hathaway, who once declared her love for the Belgian, I hope you were watching. Riccardo Calafiori closed out the scoring in the 87th minute. Over an extended period of matches, Arsenal's lack of firepower in attack will hold them back in the Premier League — with their goalless outings against West Ham and Nottingham Forest evidence of that. However, due to the Champions League's two-legged format in the knockout stage, Arsenal may fancy their chances of progressing by staying defensively compact and taking their chances when they arrive. Sure, having a striker would help them do that, but as Champions League winners Thomas Tuchel, Rafa Benitez and Jose Mourinho will attest to, defence can win championships. With superstar team-mates Mbappe and Vini Jr leading the line for Real Madrid, Bellingham describing Rodrygo as 'the most gifted player in the squad' certainly raised eyebrows. 'For me he's probably the most talented and most gifted player in the squad,' Bellingham said on CBS Sports Golazo after Madrid beat Manchester City 3-1 at the Bernabeu in February. 'The things he can do with the football — we'll be messing around and he'll flick the ball up somehow and you're like, 'How do you do that?'. I'm trying to do it, twisting up my ankles and everything like that. He's a pleasure to play with.' Advertisement Naturally, it prompted the question: is he serious, or just boosting his ego? Rodrygo is a decorated Brazil international in his own right and one of the best players in the world in his position, but alongside Mbappe and Vini, his star is somewhat dimmed by his galactico team-mates. Still, as he often does when Mbappe and Vini are quiet, Rodrygo stepped up inside four minutes to put his side ahead in the Madrid derby. The 24-year-old opened the day's showpiece match in style, blitzing past Atletico defender Javi Galan before taking a touch inside the box, dribbling past another defender and then whipping a left-footed shot into the top left corner. What a start 😳 Atlético Madrid can't stop Rodrygo as he drives inside to open the scoring ⚽ 📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK — Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 4, 2025 Rodrygo STUNS Atlético Madrid with a beautifully timed run and finish in under 5 minutes 🤯 — CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) March 4, 2025 He's now on 25 Champions League goals, just three fewer than Vini — not bad for a player who many thought would be a substitute at the beginning of the season. Madrid won the derby 2-1, with Brahim Diaz scoring the winner after fellow former City man Julian Alvarez equalised in the first half. While Kylian was leading the line for Madrid, his little brother Ethan was earning the first Champions League start of his young career. Ethan, 18, started on the right wing for Lille as they travelled to Borussia Dortmund, last year's losing finalists. He doesn't have his brother's blistering pace, but Ethan is similarly skilful with a composure in possession honed playing deeper in midfield. His stat line was solid, completing 24 passes and two dribbles, winning five ground duels, and creating a chance. He was substituted in the 71st minute at 1-1, the final score. With such an assured performance, you wonder how long it will be until they're on the same pitch on the biggest stage. Wednesday's fixtures (8pm BST, 3pm ET unless stated) Feyenoord v Inter (5.45pm BST, 12.45pm ET) Bayern Munich v Leverkusen Benfica v Barcelona PSG v Liverpool Second-legs will be played on March 11/12. (Top image: Getty Images)
