Belgium 2-1 Switzerland
Some club football fans are frustrated with how the UEFA Nations League ask too much from their players to the point that it may affect their season. However, Manchester United will be praying fervently that Romelu Lukaku’s outstanding performance in this overwhelming win will continue domestically.
The Manchester United man hasn’t scored a goal for quite some time, and there have been calls from the gallery to replace the struggling Belgium international. Some were even bold enough to call for his sale.
His scoring was an important winning condition for several pre-match previews, and many of the Belgium faithful will be proud of his performance. His showcase against a strong Switzerland XI is surely one of the biggest UEFA Nations League 2018 highlights of the weekend.
Highlights of the game
The first half started with the two sides going end-to-end with the football, trying to establish possession and flow of the game. Both Eden Hazard and Xhardan Shaqiri both made attempts to crack the goal.
It only took 10 minutes for the King Baudouin Stadium to see a bit of action from the Red Devils, however. Yannick Carrasco controlled an accurate pass into the goal area and headed the ball to a dangerous spot. While the ball was far from Yann Sommer’s hands, the attempt was narrowly wide of the left post.
The next real chance came in ten minutes later with Eden Hazard being at the centre of attack. The Chelsea man, the self-proclaimed best player in the world, ran through the left and made a good pass to the open Youri Tielemans. The Monaco man fired the ball from right outside the box, but his shot went wide of the right post.
At this point, it was clear to everyone that the hosts were living up to pre-game Belgium vs Switzerland predictions made by fans. While the Swiss had as much as 55% possession of the ball in the early stages of the game, it was the Belgians that threatened to score more often.
Switzerland were almost able to steal a goal in the 28th minute when Fabian Schar made a brilliant back pass to Shaqiri. The Liverpool man was able to beat the offside trap and was a shot away from goal. However, a Belgian defender was able to catch up and block his shot attempt.
Romelu Lukaku then made his presence known in the 32nd minute. The Manchester United striker fired a long shot towards the goal. Sommer was definitely taken off-guard by the attempt, but a block by a Swiss defender made the goal easier for the Borussia Monchengladbach stopper to save. The save he pulled out of his locker to make the stop was impressive, too.
Belgium began the second half with much purpose, and Roberto Martinez made some precise adjustments that helped the Red Devils move better in the second half. They soon showcased good passing and were constantly trying to poke through the Swiss backline.
Their persistence eventually prevailed in the 58th minute when Romelu Lukaku scored a great goal in the 58th minute. The Belgian XI built it up slowly on the left, attracting most of the defenders. A couple of quick passes saw the 25-year-old with all the space in the world. There was no way he would not score against Sommer.
Switzerland were doing their best to equalise, but they could not find the back of the net. Steven Zuber made a brilliant run in the 61st minute to crack through the Belgian backline, but Thibaut Courtois didn’t have any problem containing the effort to the middle of the goal.
The Swiss fans who did make the trip to Belgium weren’t disappointed when their national team scored the equaliser, After 76 minutes of action, the Schweizer Nati got themselves a free kick in a dangerous spot. Nico Elvedi connected with the deep kick and passed the ball to Mario Gavranovic, and the Dinamo Zagreb man cannoned the ball towards goal.
The King Baudouin Stadium would roar back to life in the 84th minute when Lukaku scored his brace. In a quick counter, Dries Mertens and Lukaku engaged in a bit of a one-two pass, allowing the striker to punch through the defence. His low-driven effort close to the goal was enough to beat Sommer a second time.
Switzerland threw every soul they have forwards as they attempted to crack through the final third, but that was all she wrote. Roberto Martinez can rest a bit easier as they now sit atop Group A2.
Key statistics
Switzerland, a side that came off a very impressive win against Iceland, are stumped that they couldn’t pull off a result against Belgium, but it wasn’t like they were completely hopeless in the match.
Possession was even between the two sides. There wasn’t much separating the two sides attack-wise: Belgium took 19 shots with seven on target, while Switzerland made 16 attempts and had five of them made towards the goal.
Moreover, they are still an impressive team whenever they’re playing away from home. Counting this fixture, the Schweizer Nati have only conceded goals to two teams on seven away games.
What’s next?
The SBOBET UEFA Nations League market won’t be busy until another month, but there are more exciting fixtures to expect!
Belgium will be locking horns with the Netherlands to end this month’s round of friendlies. Their next opponent in the Nations League will be Iceland, currently bottom of the table. Meanwhile, Switzerland will be playing the Vikings in three days’ time before welcoming Qatar next month.
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