KV Kortrijk put up a good fight against Club Brugge in their 24th match of this season in the Jupiler Pro League, but didn’t reward themselves with any points against the current champions of Belgium. Kortrijk lined up in a 4-2-3-1 against Brugge’s 3-5-2 they started using after Alfred Schreuder took over. Brugge looked very strong in the first half and had several good scoring opportunities. Bas Dost missed a huge chance, Ruud Vormer saw a goal get ruled out for offside by the VAR and Hans Vanaken’s header from close range was well saved by Kortrijk’s goalkeeper Ilic. Kortrijk’s biggest chance in the first half came in the 23rd minute after Faïz Selemani took a shot from his own half when Mignolet was far out of his goal, which hit the post.
In the second half Club Brugge finally scored the goal they needed. After a good run from Charles de Ketelaere, who played a very good game, he found Bas Dost in the box. This time Dost didn’t miss from close range. Kortrijk had a few chances in the final minutes, but substitute Charles-Jesaja Herrmann couldn’t save a point for the home side, missing two chances.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, re-watch
- D – Below average in this match
Abdelkahar Kadri
Player profile:
- Nationality: Algerian
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 24/06/2000
- Current club: KV Kortrijk
- Career: Paradou AC, KV Kortrijk
- Position: Attacking Midfield
- Secondary position: Centre Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
KV Kortrijk has good connections in the Algerian League and had multiple young Algerian players in the past, like Youcef Atal who now plays for OGC Nice. There was quite some rumoured interest in the 21-year-old playmaker, who despite of interest from Ajax and FC Porto joined KV Kortrijk at the start of the season. Just like Atal Abdelkahar Kadri came over from Paradou AC, where he played 58 matches and scored nine goals before coming to Belgium.
Kadri started as an attacking midfielder and later moved a line back as a more controlling midfielder. The Algerian was very present against Club Brugge and had the most touches of his team. He did well to stay between the lines and often moved towards the left or right side of the pitch to be able to receive a pass. He also dropped back from time to time to collect the ball from there. The Algerian scanned very well before receiving the ball, but was caught off guard once by a defender who was in his blindspot. Kadri looked really good with the ball at his feet. He showed quick feet and was technically very strong. His first touches allowed him to easily turn away from opponents and instantly play a forward pass. Kadri also did well in very small spaces with lots of opponents around him and was happy to use his weaker left foot to dribble or find a pass. His dribbling was very solid and he was easily able to beat an opponent in a 1v1 with some smart body feints or stepovers. He kept his passing relatively simple and his short passing was overall good. The few longer passes he tried either missed a bit of direction or were cleared.
Kadri is quite a small player, standing at 5’10”. He is very agile and with his low centre of gravity, it’s hard to get him off the ball. But if it came down to an actual physical duel, he didn’t really stand any chance against players like Balanta or Vormer. After around 70 minutes Kadri had to drop a line to play as centre midfielder and he wasn’t as good here. Also he made a few sloppy errors towards the end of the game, which could be some frustration or his concentration dropping a bit.
Rating – A2
Kadri looked quite promising and there were some aspects that I really liked about him. I can see him develop quite nicely at Kortrijk and maybe already make a step up after this season.
Sambou Sissoko
Player profile:
- Nationality: Malian
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 29/06/2000
- Current club: KV Kortrijk
- Career: USFAS Bamako, Djoliba AC, KV Kortrijk
- Position: Defensive Midfield
- Secondary position: Centre Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Sambou Sissoko played as the right centre midfielder next to Ante Palaversa, who played a poor match, in KV Kortrijk’s 4-2-3-1. The 21-year-old Malian was playing as ball-winning midfielder on Kortrijk’s midfield and did a fine job at that. Technically he really isn’t a fantastic player, but he did a fine job at recovering the ball for his team and then finding a teammate. Sissoko stands at 5’11” tall with quite an athletic build. He looked very strong and did well in his physical duels, winning almost all of them. The Malian played in quite a defensive role next to Palaversa, but recognized the moments when he could step forward to press his opponents. Especially at the start of the game there were some moments where he even pressed Brugge’s left-sided centre back Nsoki. In the air Sissoko seemed a little less accomplished. He seemed to have okay timing in the air, but his jumping reach let him down a few times. In the 70 minutes that he played Sissoko covered a lot of ground going back and forth a lot, showing very good stamina.
On the ball Sissoko isn’t a fantastic player. He didn’t make a lot of mistakes and was quite reliable overall, but it seemed like he just knew his role well and played quite simple. His short passing was consistently good against Brugge, but he long passes were quite poor and were not very accurate. Sissoko did well to scan his surroundings before receiving the ball however, I felt like he didn’t do it enough when he had the ball. He was quite composed overall, but made a few rushed decisions that he wouldn’t have made if he just looked a bit more with the ball at his feet.
Rating – B1
Sambou Sissoko did well as a ball-winning midfielder but doesn’t seem to offer very much on the ball for his team. He’s a solid midfielder at this level and I’m curious how much he can develop in the future.
Dylan Mbayo
Player profile:
- Nationality: Belgian
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 11/10/2001
- Current club: KV Kortrijk
- Career: KSC Lokeren, KAA Gent, KV Kortrijk
- Position: Right Wing
- Secondary position: Left Wing, Striker
- Preferred foot: Left
Dylan Mbayo played on the right wing against Club Brugge and really struggled this match. Mbayo is a small winger, standing at 5’9” and his lack of physicality really showed this match. He was in a lot of physical duels with either Stanley Nsoki or Eder Alvarez Balanta and they outmuscled the young Belgian easily. Mbayo is pretty fast on the first meters, but in long sprints he couldn’t beat Nsoki, who is pretty fast himself.
Mbayo started off very well in this match and looked really lively and active, but after Balanta went slightly more to the left Mbayo got less and less of the ball. The 20-year-old had the least touches out of all of his teammates and was just not involved enough this game. And it was not like Kortrijk didn’t have the ball on Brugge’s half, since we saw quite a bit of Faïz Selemani, their left winger. Mbayo had a few good moments where he made a run towards the middle, but I simply didn’t see enough of him. Technically he looked fine. He mainly dribbled with his favoured left foot, but used his right foot when needed. His short passing was decent and he played a few good through passes, but it was simply not enough.
Rating – D
Mbayo had ten very good minutes, but then dropped off too far. He couldn’t do a lot against Stanley Nsoki who had him in his pocket most of the game.
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