2023/24 Conference League quarter-finals, semi-finals and final

[naaba]

Logic respected in Thessaloniki : Brugge was favorite of the tie, they showed in first leg they were stronger, they had deserved more than 1-0, and despite 5 missing players and the promise of a Toumba Hell, it ended up as a walk in heaven. Apparently PAOK didn't lose at home in all competitions since April 2022 against Marseille at same level.

This is the first semi-final for a Belgian club since 1993 (Antwerp losing in C2 final).
And the first semi-final for Brugge since 1992 (eliminated by Werder Bremen in C2).

One might say it's "only" Conference League, but back then there were competitions with "only" Cup Winners, or "only" Champions.
It's a good competition for the G5 clubs that have a hard domestic road for CL or even EL, or solid clubs from "second division" (non-G5). After all, so far the winners came from England and Italy, and other semi-finalists were no Mickey Mouse clubs too.

If we look at results in this year, I'd say Brugge has a shot :
- got rid of Osasuna
- easy top of the group with 2 wins against Bodo/Glimt and trashing Besiktas 0-5
- 2 wins against PAOK
- only "accident" was in Molde

Meanwhile Fiorentina had a hard time at each round :
- against Rapid Wien (avoided extra time with a last minute penalty)
- in group stage they only got 1 narrow victory out of Ferencváros and Genk
- miraculous last minute win against Maccabi Haifa in Hungary. Draw in Italy.
- extra time required against Viktoria Plzen

Brugge is back in title race in Belgium while Fiorentina struggles at 10th place in Serie A. But their best shot at playing Europe next season is by winning the trophy. And they will be motivated to correct last year final defeat.

I'd say 50-50. I'd have given 55-45 for Brugge, but Italian clubs...

[gderoo]

Judging based on what I've seen from Fiorentina this season, Brugge can already book tickets for the final in Athens.

Not sure about that. It will still be 50/50 IMO.
I had the same feeling about the PAOK tie. But the first leg match already proved they were stronger then PAOK. But Bruges
failed to finish it already in the first leg.
Bruges was not at its best level this year until they changed the Manager recently and just before the Belgian League PO.
Since the manager change, they lifted their form and level, If they can win next weekend they can be back in the title race too. But first
let us see what happens.

About the Fiorentina game:
I still think its a 50/50 game and Bruges are not more favorites than Fiorentina. However the recent form is promising.

[Indalo]

Club Brugge - Fiorentina 2nd leg will be played on Wednesday before the Real - Bayern semi. There is the cup final in Belgium on Thursday May 9th (Denmark, Sweden and Czechia as well have their finals on 9th due to ascension day I guess).

Edit: Sweden's moved to May 1st and for Czechia I'm not sure if it's in 8th or 9th.

Club Brugge game moved to Wednesday is not related to Belgian cup final on 9/5.

It is due to the yearly "Procession of the Holy Blood/Heilig bloedprocessie" taking place on that date. There are about 35.000 people visiting the city then and I guess all hotels will be taken.

[og2002gr]

Amazing performance last night by Club Brugge.
With an average age of 24+ y.o. they managed to present a dominant game against a supposedly "tough" atmosphere.

Is Club Brugge such a good team or it was PAOK's poor performance that made them look like that?

[Firnen]

Amazing performance last night by Club Brugge.
With an average age of 24+ y.o. they managed to present a dominant game against a supposedly "tough" atmosphere.

Is Club Brugge such a good team or it was PAOK's poor performance that made them look like that?

Both. PAOK is often that bad in defense but rarely to never so toothless in creativity.

[Firnen]

AEK websites have started analyzing how they can change the stadium of the final, fearful of what will happen if Olympiacos comes with thousands of fans to their stadium (reminding everyone that in Greece there are no away fans in derbies, so they never enter the stadiums of their rivals since 2005).

If they re more afraid of a potential European title celebration from their enemy in their home or that the fans will wreck it (part of the hooligan/asserting domination logic in Greece is to destroy and wreak havoc to enemy lairs) I cannot say

Their whole fear is hilarious though!

[bugylibicska]

Aston Villa v Olympiacos 1.33 4.60 7.50
Fiorentina v Club Brugge 1.53 3.80 5.50

[emortal]

Club Brugge results since Hayen took over as interim coach, in less than 3 weeks:
1-1 @ Cercle
3-1 vs Anderlecht
1-0 vs PAOK
3-0 vs Antwerp
0-2 @ PAOK

Even before that, they thrashed Molde at home and Genk away.

You can't do all that w/o being a very good team.

However, PAOK has been stunningly bad in both games.

It's no secret that several players were suffering from a virus that made its way around the team in the last 2-3 weeks.
Murg was out for the away game and Meite played yesterday with a single practice session after being sick.
Konstantelias was subbed in yesterday w/o even warming up at halftime and went straight to the locker room after the final whistle.

Lucescu opted to start Meite, who is slow even when healthy, because he's the team's best midfielder.

Instead, Club Brugge decided against fielding Mignolet and Skov Olsen because they were not at 100%.
Despite already missing Tiago, Mechele and De Cuyper!
A testament to how deep their bench is.

In retrospect qualification was lost in Belgium for PAOK.
Losing there meant having to play offensively at home and that led to giving Brugge too much space.

[Nafi]

Amazing performance last night by Club Brugge.
With an average age of 24+ y.o. they managed to present a dominant game against a supposedly "tough" atmosphere.

Is Club Brugge such a good team or it was PAOK's poor performance that made them look like that?

Club Brugge is inconsistant this season. They are by far the best team in Belgium but gave away a lot of points during the last minutes.

[amenina]

[BurningStorm]

Lets see if Brügge continue to impress, they were extremely good so far since the coach change. I see at least a draw in Italy for them, hope I don't have to regret my unusual prediction in Lyonnais' game (1-1 in the first leg, Brügge advancing) because most of the other guys obviously see a home win. In the other game everything else but a home win would be a surprise. If Olympiacos keep it close (1-0 or 2-1) they might have a chance at home. Also a team that changed completely with the new coach.

[Greyn]

I see at least a draw in Italy for them, hope I don't have to regret my unusual prediction in Lyonnais' game (1-1 in the first leg, Brügge advancing) because most of the other guys obviously see a home win.

I have Brugge to win 2-1. Fiorentina just scored, so now I need "only" Brugge to score twice and a final whistle.

[Greyn]

Should be a penalty for Brugge. VAR check in progress.

[emortal]

Vanaken with the chill penalty kick!
1-1

[naaba]

Clear penalty for Brugge.

Vanaken finally has the courage to take it.

1-1