A week after their resounding victory away at Inter Milan (3-4), Club Brugge are set to face a challenge of a completely different calibre this Wednesday, as they host RC Lens on Matchday 3 of the Champions League group stage.
Having lost 0-2 at home to Sporting CP eight days ago, Les Sang et Or – currently 34th out of 36 in the overall standings – head to the Jan Breydelstadion as underdogs. However, Brugge manager Ivan Leko refuses to underestimate his opponents. Whilst he acknowledges that the names of the Lens players are obviously not as “appealing” as those found “at Inter, Liverpool, Barça or Arsenal”, the Croatian manager remains wary of the northerners.
“When you start watching the matches – four or five of them – under a new manager, and you take a look at how the team has performed in Ligue 1 over the last five or six years, they’re a very strong opponent,” Leko pointed out. “They’re better than I expected. They might not have any world-class players, but they’re a very good side.”
A team which, in his view, displays “perhaps one of the best pressing games I’ve seen. A team that’s strong in one-on-one situations and runs a lot.” A potential pitfall in the face of which Leko expects his team to show “humility”, whilst also asking them to “know where we stand and who we are”.