First goal for ex-BVB talent
©IMAGO
Former Dortmund player Paris Brunner secured Cercle Brugge’s place in the round of 16 of the UEFA Conference League with his late equalizer on Thursday evening. With the 1-1 draw against the Turkish representative Basaksehir, the Belgians defended eighth place in the table and moved into the knockout round. For the 18-year-old German, it was the first goal in the jersey of his loan club.
“We knew a draw might be enough, but we really wanted to win the game. It was an even game in the first half and then a thriller until the last second. (…) The 0-1 came out of nowhere, but we showed character and came back. I’m very happy for Paris, he played a great game tonight and worked for the team, also defensively,” Cercles coach Ferdinand Feldhofer praised his protégé afterwards.
For Brunner it was only his second starting eleven appearance in the 13th game across all competitions. The attacker moved from Dortmund to AS Monaco in August and from there was immediately loaned out to Bruges. In October, Brunner received his first market value of 1.5 million euros, making him one of the ten most valuable German U18 professionals.
In the Jupiler Pro League, the youngster and Cercle are currently in second to last place. The next opponent in the Conference League will not be determined until February 21st, after the playoff round has been played. The knockout round then starts on March 6th and 13th. Based on the final table, Brugge could meet, among others, Molde (Norway), TSC Bačka Topola (Serbia), Jagiellonia Bialystok (Poland) or Shamrock Rovers (Ireland).