Club Brugge head coach Ivan Leko has revealed that Nigerian midfielder Raphael Onyedika’s absence will be felt in the team for their UCL playoff second leg clash against Atletico Madrid next week, SportPremi reports.
The Belgian side will travel to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano in Madrid for the second leg of their playoff encounter on Tuesday, with a place in the Round of 16 on the line.
Onyedika picked up a booking in the 76th minute of the 3-3 draw in the first leg, which has ruled him out of participating in the second leg clash.
The Super Eagles midfielder enjoyed an impressive performance on the pitch for Club Brugge, scoring once and providing an assist to help his side snatch a late draw in the encounter.
Julian Alvarez gave Atletico the lead inside the first 10 minutes, before Onyedika’s compatriot Ademola Lookman added a second in first half stoppage time as the visitors took a two-goal advantage into the break.
Onyedika then began the comeback with a goal few minutes after the restart, before Nicolo Tresoldi brought them back on level terms.
Atletico were back ahead after an own goal by Joe Ordonez, but Club Brugge equalized once more as Onyedika found Christos Tzolis, who finished to make the scoreline 3-3.
Ivan Leko rues Onyedika’s absence for crucial second leg clash
Speaking after the entertaining first leg draw, Leko expressed disappointment over the absence of the Super Eagles midfield maestro for the crucial second leg encounter.
“We don’t have another Rapha, so we’re going to have to find another solution. But that’s for next week, now we have to focus on our league match next Saturday first. Then the focus goes to the return match”, Leko revealed.
“We have confidence in our football and believe that we can achieve a result there.”
The Club Brugge head coach also hailed his side’s performance in the first leg clash, after they overturned a two-goal deficit in the first half to snatch a draw and keep themselves in the tie.
“I’m very happy, but not with the result. If you are 0-2 behind at halftime against such a team, you know that it can be 0-3 or 0-4”, he continued.
“But when you see with what mentality and fighting spirit the players came out of the dressing room, that was very handsome.
“On that basis alone, we deserved a better result. Every coach would say that, with a 0-2 record, they should continue to believe in it, and it is very nice that they have done so.
“Many players would leave their heads hanging, because you know it’s against a team that are specialists in the transition and can punish that very well. But the players have continued to believe in themselves and in each other, successfully”, the Croatian concluded.
Club Brugge face Oud-Heverlee Leuven in the Belgian league on Saturday, before heading to Madrid for their UCL playoff second leg clash on Tuesday.
