Club Brugge secured their second consecutive UEFA Champions League victory after defeating Lens 3-0 at the Jan Breydelstadion on Wednesday, with Hans Vanaken, Joaquin Seys and Carlos Forbs finding the net for the Belgian champions.
The hosts followed up their impressive 4-3 away win over Inter Milan last week with another strong result, strengthening their position in the competition’s league phase.
Despite the comfortable final scoreline, Club Brugge faced considerable pressure in the first half, as Lens created several opportunities and registered 11 shots compared with the hosts’ four.
Lens winger Junior Kadile came close to opening the scoring, but his effort was cleared off the line. He also saw a close-range header denied by goalkeeper Yann Sommer.
However, Club Brugge took the lead in first-half stoppage time when a corner was flicked on by Nicolo Tresoldi.
Lens failed to deal with the resulting ball, allowing captain Vanaken to tap home from close range in the 45th minute plus three.
The Belgian side doubled their advantage five minutes after the restart through left-back Seys.
After a promising move down the right flank, Forbs delivered a cross into the penalty area.
Seys’ initial attempt was saved, but the defender reacted quickly to convert the rebound and fire the ball into the roof of the net.
Club Brugge continued to threaten on the counter-attack and sealed the victory in the 72nd minute.
Forbs raced onto a pass from Hugo Vetlesen down the right before lifting the ball over the advancing goalkeeper to complete the scoring and cap an impressive individual performance.
The result gives Club Brugge successive victories in the Champions League following their dramatic win over Inter Milan in the previous round.
Club Brugge will travel to face PSV Eindhoven in their next European fixture on November 3, while Lens will host Como on the same date.
