Gent end Club Brugges perfect league start with red card and late winner in Belgian derby

KAA Gent defeated Club Brugge 2-1 in the Slag om Vlaanderen at the Planet Group Arena in Ghent on Sunday. José Vergara opened the scoring for Gent in the 39th minute, converting a cross from Araujo. Club Brugge equalized before halftime through Hans Vanaken, assisted by Carlos Forbs.
The decisive moment came in the 70th minute when Forbs received a straight red card for an incident involving Siebe Van der Heyden, leaving Club Brugge with 10 players. Gent capitalized on their numerical advantage in the 85th minute, with 18-year-old substitute Ibrahima Cissé scoring the winner from a Matties Volckaert cross, beating goalkeeper Yann Sommer. Cissé, a Senegalese forward born on Sept. 24, 2007, was later sent off in stoppage time, but Gent held on to secure the victory.
Club Brugge entered the match with a perfect league record and had yet to concede a goal this season. Gent, also unbeaten, had additional momentum after securing their place in the UEFA Conference League league phase. Before the game, Club Brugge coach Ivan Leko acknowledged Gent’s European progress, stating, “It is fantastic that we are going into Europe again with five teams. That is great, also for Gent.” He described the derby as a major match.
Gent’s victory maintained their perfect league start while handing Club Brugge their first points loss of the campaign. Romeo Vermant had a late attempt for Club Brugge but failed to equalize. Cissé, who joined Gent from Club Olympique Thiessois, was initially linked with the club’s development side but has since stepped into a growing first-team role.
Follow us for live European news
- 3
- 2
- 1
- 1
- 1
- 1
5 further sources not geolocated


