Sport
Drama as 9-man Club Bruges hold Galatasaray
You can never say Club Bruges don’t know how to celebrate. In fact they enjoyed their late equaliser at Galatasaray so much that they had two men sent off.
When Krepin Diatta curled home from outside the box deep into injury time to make it 1-1 in Istanbul, you might have expected the drama to be over.
He took his shirt off to celebrate, as modern footballers love to do. Unfortunately he appeared to forget he had already been booked so was shown a second yellow card and a red.
He is the first player to score and be sent off in a Champions League game since Fernando Torres in April 2016 for Atletico Madrid against Barcelona.
In the celebrations, Clinton Mata – who set up the goal – kicked the corner flag, breaking it in the process. He too had already been booked and received a red card.
The pair will now miss their final Champions League game at home to Real Madrid.
Club Bruges have made a bit of unwanted history as the first team to have two players sent off in injury time at the end of a Champions League match. This was the second time they have had two players sent off in a Champions League game – with the other a 1-1 draw against Celta Vigo in 2003.
These two games account for four of the five Champions League red cards in the club’s history.
Despite all that, Club Bruges can no longer qualify for the Champions League knockout stages – with Real Madrid joining Paris St-Germain in the last 16.
However it did keep them above Galatasaray in the battle for a Europa League place.
