Club Brugge manager Nicky Hayen is proud of his side’s progress into the UEFA Champions League round of 16 playoffs despite losing 3-1 to Manchester City in the final round of league phase fixtures on Wednesday night, Afrosport reports.
The Belgian giants were ahead of the Citizens going into the game and looked like they were going to eliminate the 2023 champions when Nigerian midfielder Raphael Onyedika put them in front towards the end of the first half.
City however bounced back in the second half through Mateo Kovacic, Savinho and a Joel Ordonez own goal.
The defeat still saw Brugge finish in the final playoff spot in 24th after Stuttgart failed to beat Paris Saint-Germain at home.
“I’m proud. I’m also relieved. I’m proud because we were able to present this whole campaign in a positive way, including [against Man City],” Hayen said.
“And a feeling of relief because those three goals conceded against Dortmund and against [AC] Milan means the goal total wasn’t really that positive and that could have meant some difficulty for us. So, that’s why we were in relief now because we did make it. And I think we deserve it as well.”
FT: 3-1. Through to the next phase of the Champions League! 💙🖤 #MCICLU #UCL pic.twitter.com/XiNCtB2er7
— Club Brugge KV (@ClubBrugge) January 29, 2025
Hayen added: “I think we’re really proud of the way how we performed during the group phase. And for tonight, I think the first-half, everyone was really disciplined.
“We didn’t give a lot of chances away. We gave the ball to [Manchester] City, but we kept everything compact and we knew that there were possibilities in the space in the back of the defenders and that’s what we executed in a good way.
“And then we wanted to continue like this in the second-half. But then we started to make small mistakes and against a team of world class like City, they punish you immediately and you give a small chance and at the end, okay the victory is deserved. But I think the way how we presented was quite okay.”
Club Brugge will face either Atalanta or Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16 playoffs.
