Van Bommel, frustrated by his Antwerp’s poor run

Mark van Bommelformer FC Barcelona player and now Coach of Antwerpone of Barça’s team’s rivals in Group H of the Champions League, showed disappointment after suffering three consecutive defeats in the defense of the title in the Belgian League. 11 points behind Jupiler Pro League leader Union Saint-Gilloise.“If you lose three times in a row, you shouldn’t talk about whether they don’t deserve it or not,” he said in reference to the recent defeat against Bruges (2-1).

Exactly, Van Bommel wanted to give this self-critical nuance because his evaluation of the game against Bruges was definitely too positive. “‘I don’t think the final result was justified. My team played the match well and was in control, although not creating scoring opportunities. Even the Bruges crowd started to whistle, but after a throw-in they give you a stupid goal. I don’t think this defeat was deserved,” the Dutch coach had previously commented.

Three successive defeats in the Champions League also put Antwerp, who had already made their European league debut with a 5-0 defeat against Barça at Montjuïc, in a dire situation for their continental hopes. “Losing three games in a row is a bad start after an international match, especially since two of them could have been avoided, last week in Charleroi and this one in Bruges. In the match against FC Porto can be discussed if it’s not just about a difference in quality,” the coach told DAZN.

Despite this reading navigating between criticism and humility, Van Bpmmel certainly did not like the words of his left back Owen Wijndal, on loan from Ajax, who seemed more concerned about being an unheard of under the Eredivisie. “I still have a lot of friends there, so I hope they can fix it. I’m confident things will change soon. Although when you join a new club, focus on that. There is no rental option, I’ll usually come back next season to Ajax then someone wants I want to prove myself. I want to succeed and I feel I can,” he concluded.

Compared to Barça’s total of 9 points, Antwerp has scored no points in Group H of the Champions League, making it temporarily bottom of the league. On November 7, the Belgian champions will visit Porto, who won 1-4 in the last match at the Bosuilstadion.