Club Brugge drew 0-0 Torino in the Europa League on Thursday night at the Jan Breydel Stadium, as the home side were guilty of squandering numerous good opportunities.
This draw represents the third consecutive game in which Torino have failed to score, which will be a big worry for the Granata.
Club Brugge
Matthew Ryan – 6
Was for the most part a complete spectator, due to Torino’s quiet night in front of goal. Wasn’t even required to come out to make a catch from a cross. The highlight of his night was organising his wall on a free-kick.
Thomas Meunier – 6
Faced little challenge down his right side, but did well to balance attack with defence. He could have been caught out on the counter attack once or twice but was astute with his positioning.
Brandon Mechele – 6.5
The Torino attacking partnership of Amauri and Quagliarella is not quite there yet, so Mechele was mostly required to deal with crosses. Imposed himself in the air and was careful to not give away easy fouls.
Oscar Duarte – 7
Duarte was more involved than his defensive partner, and more visibly contained Quagliarella to only build-up play outside of the box. Had a stooping header saved by Gillet in the first half.
Boli Bolingoli – 7
Seemed to have a good hold of his left side, and was only beaten for pace once. Bombed forward when given the opportunity and supported the forwards as well as he could have.
Fernando – 6
A quiet night for the Brazilian, as play seemed to pass him by as it jolted from defence to attack with little interplay. Taken off just after the hour mark.
Francisco Silva – 6.5
Was also involved on a muted level due to the quick style of Brugges’ play. Used his defensive knowhow when Torino did attack by working tirelessly, though. Missed an easy chance when he failed to get a shot away in space.
Timmy Simons – 6.5
Never the most mobile of players, Simons was quite often beaten for pace in the times where he was not in an excellent position. Did a good job of protecting his defence but was ineffective in going forward.
Victor Vasquez – 6
Not a good show from the Spaniard. Never seemed like he would influence the game on the same level as Izquierdo and Gedoz, and was hauled off with 30 minutes left on the clock.
Felipe Gedoz – 7.5
The energetic Brazilian put on an encouraging display, with quick incisive runs in behind the defence and a great understanding with his partner Izquierdo. Almost teed up a goal with a mazy run but was denied, and also had a 20-yard shot drift just wide of the post. Like Silva, was also guilty of dithering in a good position.
Jose Izquierdo – 7.5
Put in a solid performance on par with that of Gedoz. Whipped a 25-yarder just wide of the top-right angle in the first half, before shanking a shot well wide after a lung-busting run from the halfway line later on.
Substitutes
Nikola Storm – 6.5
Had a great header denied by Gillet just minutes after coming on, but that was his only real contribution.
Ruud Vormer – 5
The Dutchman was ineffective and failed to find any space down the right side.
Laurens De Bock – N/A
Was not on for long enough to make an impression.
Torino
Jean-Francois Gillet – 7.5
Made a couple of saves in the first half awkwardly, as both could well have been parried far away from danger. His defining moment came in the second half where he scrambled across his goal to claw out a Storm header. Was also quick to sprint from his line and commanded his area well.
Nikola Maksimovic – 6.5
Was relatively sturdy but was always going to be coming off second best when up against the sheer speed of Brugge’s forwards. Hacked a clearance to the opposite team in a situation of some danger, but emerged from the match with a clean sheet nonetheless.
Pontus Jansson – 7.5
Was physically capable of dealing with the Belgian side’s attackers but did leave a large amount of space in behind him. Put in a good show in the air and was required to intercept balls on the ground on a number of occasions also.
Gaston Silva – 6.5
The Uruguayan had to deal with less than his defensive counterparts but was generally quite good when he was required. His blip came when he was very easily outmuscled on the edge of the area, almost costing his team dearly.
Matteo Darmian – 6.5
Wasn’t impressive going forward and made a big error defensively. Completely lost track of Duarte from a corner which gave the centre-back all the time in the world to power a header towards goal. The 24-year-old was lucky to have not been punished for his lapse in concentration.
Marco Benassi – 6.5
Pulled some strings in midfield but none of his passes were quite incisive enough to carve out any chances. Found space out on the right side on two occasions but his crosses were well wide of the target each time.
Juan Sanchez-Mino – 6.5
Was quiet for most of the game, but dragged a shot inches wide of the post when sent through on goal in the second half, after being rushed into the shot by an oncoming defender.
Cristian Molinaro – 6
Was deployed as extra defensive cover but looked sluggish and clumsy throughout. The 31-year-old needs game time under his belt to become more of an influence in games.
Fabio Quagliarella – 7
Despite having no real chances, Quagliarella was by far the best forward who Torino fielded. He looked very sharp in the first half, with two speedy runs up field resulting in the player being scythed down for a free-kick. Was perhaps guilty of looking for his partner, Amauri, rather than thinking about how he could get a shot away.
Amauri – 5.5
His first start in a Torino shirt was one to forget, as he failed to make an impression in any form during the entire game. Will surely be hoping for better next time, but may not be given the opportunity to do so for a while.
Substitutes
Omar El Kaddouri – 5.5
Failed to settle into the game quickly enough and wasn’t adept at creating chances, so settled for easy passes.
Josef Martinez – 6
Provided fresh legs when brought on with 20 minutes to go, but missed a great chance in the 90th minute when in a good position. The Colombian waited to pull the trigger but a sliding Brugges defender made a last-ditch block.
Antonio Nocerino – N/A
Was not on for long enough to make an impression.
