Club Bruges qualified for the play-offs on Wednesday night despite a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City in the final group stage match of the Champions League.
Manchester City also secured their place in the next round. Bruges finished with 11 points in 24th place, while Manchester City climbed up to 22nd place. The Blauw and Zwart will face either Atalanta or Dortmund in the knock-out rounds.
Bruges had the first chance of the match when Christos Tzolis’s shot was blocked in the 3rd minute. Manchester City then dominated the rest of the first half, with Phil Foden missing an attempt in the 14th minute, followed by a saved shot from Matheus Nunes in the 16th minute.
Just before half-time, Raphael Onyedika shocked the hosts when he put Club Brugge 0-1 up with an assist from Ferran Jutgla (45′, 0-1).
Mateo Kovacic quickly equalised for City early in the second half, striking from the midfield and beating goalkeeper Simon Mignolet (52′, 1-1).
Despite a clear chance for Tzolis in the 60th minute, Joel Ordonez’s own goal gave Manchester City the lead (62′, 2-1).
Ten minutes later, Mignolet and Brandon Mechele kept Bruges’s hopes alive by saving attempts from Erling Haaland and Savinho in the 73rd minute. However, Savinho scored for City in the 77th minute, sealing their 3-1 victory.
Bruges will face either Atalanta, 9th, or Dortmund, 10th, in the play-offs scheduled for 11/12 and 18/19 February. The play-off draw will take place on Friday, 31 January at 12:00.
