'Glorified B team' - Belgian media react as Union SG bring down 'superpower' Liverpool
Belgian national media reacted proudly to Union SG's 2-1 home victory against a youthful Liverpool team in the Europa League
Union Saint-Gilloise claimed a historic result for themselves on Thursday night, defeating the six-time European champions Liverpool on Belgian soil in the final Europa League group game.
For the Reds it was a dead rubber - their task had already been completed when qualification had been sealed as group winners after the previous round and had left their big stars at home - though for Union SG there was a slither of hope they could be the ones joining them in the next stage, pending the result of LASK vs Toulouse.
On their part, Alexander Blessin's team fought well against a Liverpool line-up featuring nine players under the age of 20. They ultimately came away with the result to show for it, winning 2-1 at Lotto Park. However, Toulouse's victory made sure that only qualification for the Europa Conference League play-off round was possible via a third-place finish in Group E.
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Still with all facts taken into account, the media in Belgium are proud of their team nonetheless. After all, they were a second-tier side only two-and-a-half years ago.
Here are a few snippets of their reaction to Thursday's match:
"Evening of ecstasy for the Union against Liverpool"
La Capitale wrote: "Certainly Liverpool did not travel to Brussels with its very large team. Its stars Salah, Alexander-Arnold, van Dijk and Alisson are not even part of the selection. Nevertheless: the feat remains resounding. The Union is the first team to bring down the Reds on Belgian soil since 1978. And in style, what's more!
"The Saint-Gillois went there with full force throughout the meeting, in no way impressed by the stakes of the match, nor by the prestige of their opponent. Two Unionists particularly stood out during this evening which will go down in the annals of the number 10: Amoura and Puertas, authors of the two Saint-Gilles goals.
"Pushed by a crowd that came to fill the Anderlecht stadium, the Saint-Gillois managed to take the lead twice in the first period. Before keeping the score as it was in the second, missing several great opportunities to kill the match. Enough to receive compliments from Jürgen Klopp in person."
"Gave the Bradley-Konate-Quansah trio a headache. Migraine, even."
Het Laatste Nieuws wrote: "Mohamed Amoura. Cameron Puertas. Two survivors. One could not settle in Switzerland and chose Union in the summer, the other spent a year and a half on the bench with the Brussels team. They will conquer the football hearts in Vorst this season. Amoura now also showed against Liverpool that - in form - he is/can be a real fearmonger for his direct opponent. His speed gave the Bradley-Konaté-Quansah trio a headache. Migraine, even. In the opening phase, the Algerian played poorly a few times. Those fast legs sometimes lack an overview. But after just over half an hour, Amoura did give Union the lead after a perfect counter-attack.
"He slipped through the offside trap, rounded Kelleher and scored. The 1-0 was deserved for the people of Brussels. They played football dynamically, with courage and courage. Liverpool's glorified B team played poorly in the Astrid Park. Without drive or inspiration. The match against Manchester United next weekend was given priority.
"After the final whistle there was a party in the Astridpark. A win against Liverpool always looks good on the CV of a Belgian club. Especially if this involves a European wintering. Not in the Europa League, but in the Conference League - Toulouse won in Linz and finished second in the group."
"Absolutely no disappointment at Union"
Het Belang van Limburg wrote: "A deserved victory against superpower Liverpool and a place in the next round of the Conference League. For the second year in a row, Union is wintering in Europe. The ambition was expressed in advance: Union wanted to hibernate in the Europa League. It ended up being the next round in the Conference League, but who cares about that? After a well-deserved victory against Liverpool, there was absolutely no disappointment at Union.
"The 2-1 win by the people of Brussels is going around Europe, just like the performance of Amoura and Puertas. In the Europa League, there is no one who does more attacking sprints per 90 minutes than Mohamed Amoura. The international research agency CIES calculated this and Liverpool was able to experience this first-hand.
"It may have been against Liverpool's B team, but with such world teams that still means a top team. Thanks to the 2-1 win, Union is wintering in Europe for the second year in a row."