Given the likes of Liverpool, Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid are on AC Milan’s fixture list, Club Brugge might not be the most exciting game in the eyes of fans. However, they have plenty to offer.
La Gazzetta dello Sport have taken a look at tonight’s opponents just as we did in our pre-match preview, and they start with the predicted XI: Mignolet; Seys, Ordóñez, Mechele, De Cuyper; Onyedika, Jashari, Vanaken; Skov Olsen, Jutgla, Tzolis.
On the bench will be Nicky Hayen, promoted in March from the youth team. With them, 3,500 spectators in the away section and a curiosity: Brugge gave traveling journalists a self-produced newspaper called ‘La Gazzetta di Bruges’.
Brugge won 2-1 away at Westerlo on Saturday afternoon but are struggling more than expected in the league given that they are fourth, seven points behind Genk who are the early pace-setters. They played their best games in the Champions League.
At home to Borussia Dortmund they lost 3-0 but only conceded goals in the last 15 minutes and they were more than a match to that point, while they beat Sturm Graz 1-0 away from home in the last round to propel them up the standings.
In 2022, Club Brugge took four points in two group games against Atletico Madrid and many of tonight’s players were on the pitch. The month before they had won 4-0 at Porto (goals by Jutgla and Skov Olsen, still in the squad) and won against Leverkusen.
Not only that, over the years they have scared Real Madrid (2-2 away from home), City (a disaster) and PSG (1-1 in Belgium). San Siro won’t scare them too much, and they will be ready to use counter-attacks to their advantage.
The dangers are on the wings because Skov Olsen (if he plays) and Tzolis have quality and are very good in one-on-one situations, while the left-back Maxime De Cuyper – who scored against Italy ten days ago and has been linked with Milan – is a real talent.
The Ecuadorian Joel Ordóñez is one to watch, given that he is just 20 years of age and has already made a senior national team appearance. He will leave in the summer, with Brugge likely to collect yet another big fee.
The most famous player at Brugge is Simon Mignolet, the goalkeeper for six years at Liverpool and a starter for the Belgian national team when Thibaut Courtois was out. He is 36 years old but he has plenty of experience of the big nights.
The two midfielders are also crucial: Onyedika and Vanaken. Onyedika is the player pursued by Milan after the Scudetto win and he sits in front of the defence, with the Belgians having bought him with the Charles De Ketelaere money.
Then we come to Andreas Skov Olsen who plays on the right and had a brilliant 2023-24 season with 26 goals overall, including seven in the Conference League. He was in doubt for the game but should play, and he knows San Siro having been at Bologna for over two years.
The absence of Gustaf Nilsson – a 27-year-old Swedish striker who arrived from Union St. Gilloise last summer – is big. He scored 16 goals in the league in 2023-24 and he is the starter but he will not be available.