Kevin De Bruyne, who did not play for the game against Russia, only needed a half to show the impact he can have on the Red Devils game. Since the slap in Lucerne where Switzerland inflicted a correction (5-2) on them in November 2018, the Devils had never played such a catastrophic half as in Denmark. Combined with that of Witsel and the freshness of Hazard, De Bruyne’s return has brought some order to the house.
Belgium is a bit sorry at the start of Thursday’s game against Denmark in a two-faced match. Romelu Lukaku, designated Man of the Match, referred to Roberto Martinez’s speech at halftime.
“He was obviously disappointed. He told us that we could not start a game like this, especially being an experienced team like ours. He changed our tactics by placing Kevin De Bruyne and putting Yannick Carrasco and me more on the flanks,” explained Lukaku.
“The match changed thanks to the quality of the three players who came up in the second half (Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Axel Witsel)”, he continued.
De Bruyne didn’t Celebrate the goal
Kevin De Bruyne (29, 80 caps and 21 goals) overthrew Denmark (2-1) with an assist, then the winning goal. An achievement celebrated (very) soberly by the attacking midfielder, five days after Christian Eriksen’s heart failure on the same lawn in Copenhagen.
“I was happy, of course, but I have too much respect for everyone here. I walked to the corner of the pitch where Eriksen collapsed on Saturday and stayed calm,” explained the man of the match at the RTBF microphone after the final whistle. A very classy attitude, just like the player.
