2023-09-20 19:12:54
Club Brugge will launch the first Conference League final phase in its history by welcoming Turkish side Besiktas on Thursday at the Jan Breydel Stadium. It is a high-level duel that awaits the Blauw en Zwart, placed in group D with the Swiss from Lugano and the Norwegians from Bodo/Glimt.
Alongside the high-sounding names of Eric Bailly, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Vincent Aboubakar, two former Jupiler Pro League players make up the Istanbul core: Omar Colley (ex-Genk) and Jackson Muleka, who played 54 times for Standard. “We will do everything to start with a victory,” explained the second at a press conference on Wednesday. “Three points are the goal, although I know it’s never easy in Bruges with the crowd behind the team. So we’re expecting a tough game, but we’re prepared for it.”
Besiktas coach Senol Günes supported his striker’s comments. “We want these three points. Club are however the strongest opponent in the group. They have individual qualities, European experience and they have won the title many times. We will do our best to get a result here .”
Bruges’ 350th European match will be the fourth time they cross paths with Besiktas. Beaten in 2006 in the UEFA Cup, the Blauw en Zwart won their home and away matches in the round of 16 of the Europa League in 2015.
Besiktas finished 3rd in the Turkish league last season. The club is currently 10th with 7 points out of 12 but has one game less than its competitors. The Istanbulites have just conceded their first defeat to the works of Trabzonspor d’Onuachu (3-0) last weekend. In the Conference League play-offs, they knocked out the Ukrainians from Dinamo kyiv.
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