Vandenbempt: “Dracell rabbit Odoi is a revelation, evolution of Kompany is remarkable” | Jupiler Pro League

Club Brugge booked a striking victory in the top match against Antwerp yesterday. A reference match of the champion against a direct competitor with title ambitions in what has become a prestige duel on and off the field in recent years.

Club has finally played football again and won as a real title contender. Dominant, with a lot of pace, pressing, fast and good football, with 4 winter transfers playing a major role.

We discovered Adamyan a bit as a deep striker, the boys on the flanks – Skov Olsen and Buchanan – gave Club Brugge’s game depth and some acceleration and actions.

But the most striking was Denis Odoi in his also new role as a defensive midfielder. A revelation. He has undergone a tremendous evolution in his years in England. He is still that Duracell rabbit, but also playing football under pressure, very calm and very strong.

It all has to be confirmed of course. The cup match against AA Gent on Wednesday will be a bit more difficult, but if Club Brugge can achieve and maintain this level without its greatest talent – Charles De Ketelaere – it will not be too far off.

That is the advantage if you are financially strong as Club Brugge. Then you can invest heavily in the summer – which has not yet been a great success – and you can make considerable corrections here and there in the winter.

It seems to be gradually being confirmed that Club Brugge needed new, fresh guys to blow a new wind after all those successful years with the same people and the same trainer.

The crisis lurks around the corner at Antwerp, suddenly a place in the top 4 no longer seems assured and questions are being asked about the approach of coach Brian Priske. It is especially worrying that after Union, Antwerp has now lost without a chance against another competitor from the top 4.

I don’t necessarily think it can be reduced to a question of mentality or lack of sharpness. I thought that Antwerp – just like Club Brugge – started the match aggressively.

But there was a painful lack of quality on the ball. Unlike Club, Antwerp had problems playing football: a lot of ball loss, sloppiness, no ideas, little pace, hardly a chance throughout the match.

Players brought in to carry the squad performed downright weak. Then everyone looks – however you look at it – at the star of the team: Radja Nainggolan. I think he has underperformed expectations too many times this season. This also has to do with physical defects.

I remember Paul Gheysens saying at the beginning of the season: “Which do you prefer: Nainggolan for 2 million or Vanaken for 3 million?” I don’t know what he thinks about that now.

Nainggolan isn’t Antwerp’s problem either, it’s one of the problems. It is time for Priske to enter into a dialogue with his players about that famous system with the diamond in midfield that he clings to. Do they still believe in it, because of course they have to?

And Priske also has to make players like Samatta, who also doesn’t perform, perform better. More consistent performances are expected, because we have already seen how good and dominant Antwerp can play football.

With this quality, that is too little and too irregular. The derby against Beerschot follows on Sunday, followed by Anderlecht. So there is not much time.

Anderlecht are also not yet certain of Play-off 1 after a 0-0 draw in Leuven and even a red card for Vincent Kompany. There is a lot of pressure at Anderlecht and even the always cool Kompany suffers from that.

The second yellow card may have been given a bit soon after the first by referee Lambrechts, but it was not unjustified either. If you’re roaring theatrically in the referee’s face, that can happen.

Kompany was right in his protest: the ref had not called a foul on Raman just before, the action continued and right back Murillo was shown red. But Kompany’s aggressive response was striking. We don’t really know him that way.

I don’t think he yelled in Kouame’s face like that and those two misses were much bigger than the referee’s. And that cost Anderlecht two precious points.

The evolution along the line of the trainer Kompany is a bit remarkable. He has – everyone agrees – evolved in a very positive way as a trainer: more flexible, the football of his team has evolved.

But also his attitude along the line, his discourse about the referee, he is also annoyed by the refs. He has become a “regular trainer” in quotes, who denounces decisions. He never did that in his first months.

I would say; it’s only slightly human and a result of the pressure and the stress. Because let it be clear: Anderlecht must reach the top 4, must enforce European football and must qualify for the cup final on Thursday at the expense of Eupen.

AA Gent comes to threaten Antwerp and Anderlecht. It won yesterday at the moribund Standard after a strange match.

At one point I thought that director Ralph Inbar would come out of his grave and that AA Gent was being tricked into a hidden camera program.

It turned out to be no laughing matter after all. The two disallowed goals were justified, but we urgently need to get rid of that red card for Vadis Odjidja. I cannot understand such a situation.

And that a player can grab a ball with his arm from the line and not get a penalty, that is something different than a support arm. There may soon be an explanation for this, but as a football fan we don’t think that is normal.

But chapeau for how AA Gent fought and won against all those setbacks.

Bodart’s embarrassing blunder is very bad for him, because that really is a clubman of Standard at heart who suffers from that condition on Sclessin. But in the end it was a kind of justice, I think.

With his interventions at half time, Hein Vanhaezebrouck – with one man less – still won against Standard coach Luka Elsner.

It was certainly not the best game of AA Gent in football, but they did keep a clean sheet 12 out of 12, 3 times. With all due respect, they can now warm up twice against Zulte Waregem and Beerschot, followed by a direct duel with Anderlecht.

If I can count correctly, AA Gent has its fate for Play-off 1 in its own hands. With a win, Ghent can simply pass, because 3 points less, but just as many won matches.

Anyway, first the cup match against Club Brugge on Wednesday. Still not uninteresting.