COLOGNE, Germany: Kevin De Bruyne scored and Belgium got its European Championship campaign up and running after beating Romania 2-0 on Saturday.
The No. 3-ranked Belgians shook off the shock of losing to Slovakia in their opening game by responding with a dominant performance in front of the Belgium royal family at Cologne Stadium.
Youri Tielemans gave them a flying start with a goal from the edge of the area in the second minute.
De Bruyne effectively killed the game off in the 80th after converting direct from Belgium goalkeeper Koen Casteels’ long kick.
All four teams in Group E have three points, meaning there is all to play for in the final round of games on Wednesday.
While Belgium won, there was more frustration for Romelu Lukaku, who had a third goal ruled out by VAR at these Euros.
Still, he was at the center of his team’s great start when laying the ball off for Tielemans to score with a low drive from the edge of the box.
It was just what Belgium needed after the Slovakia stunner, which raised the prospect of another early exit from a major tournament after being eliminated at the group stage of the 2022 World Cup.
The format of the Euros, in which the four best third-place teams advance, leaves more room for error. But with memories of Qatar still fresh, another defeat would have broken the confidence of a team criticized for failing to live up to expectations in the past.
Tielemans’ goal seemed to lift the pressure, and Belgium ruled the rest of the half with 67 percent of possession.
Lukaku thought he scored after the break, but VAR said he strayed offside before firing past Romania keeper Florin Nita.
The longer the game went on without Belgium scoring a second, the more the tension rose.
Dennis Man could have evened the score when running through on goal, but was denied by Casteels.
The keeper then turned provider with a long punt upfield, which De Bruyne raced on to and fired home.
Under former Belgium coach Roberto Martinez, Portugal advanced to the knockout phase after a 3-0 win against Turkiye in Group F. Georgia picked up its first ever point at a major tournament after a drawing the Czech Republic 1-1 and still has hopes of advancing.
De Bruyne seals Belgium’s 2-0 win over Romania to get Euro 2024 campaign on track
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De Bruyne seals Belgium’s 2-0 win over Romania to get Euro 2024 campaign on track
- All four teams in Group E have three points, meaning there is all to play for in the final round of games on Wednesday
Bournemouth snap Liverpool’s unbeaten run to up pressure on Slot
- Goals from Evanilson and Alex Jimenez put the home side in a commanding position
- Defeat will intensify the scrutiny on Liverpool boss Arne Slot
BOURNEMOUTH, UK: Bournemouth ended Liverpool’s 13-game unbeaten run as Amine Adli’s 95th minute strike secured a thrilling 3-2 win for the Cherries on Saturday.
Goals from Evanilson and Alex Jimenez put the home side in a commanding position but Liverpool hit back through Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai to level.
However, Bournemouth won for just the second time in 15 matches after Adli fired in with virtually the last kick of the game.
Defeat will intensify the scrutiny on Liverpool boss Arne Slot with the Reds likely to fall outside of the Premier League’s top four after Sunday’s fixtures.
Slot, who guided Liverpool to Premier League glory last season, had steadied the ship after a run of nine defeats in 12 games earlier in the campaign.
But the Dutchman has attracted criticism for Liverpool’s uninspiring performances, even during their unbeaten run, and they are now winless in five league games.
The Reds put in a commanding performance to beat Marseille 3-0 and close in on the Champions League last 16 in midweek.
But they again struggled when faced with the rigours of breaking down a Premier League defense after gifting the Cherries a 2-0 lead.
The visitors dominated the ball throughout, but were made to pay for two defensive lapses in seven first-half minutes.
Van Dijk was too casual as he tried to flick Marcos Senesi’s ball over the top behind for a corner and Alex Scott pounced to cross for Evanilson to hammer home.
In trying to prevent the goal, Joe Gomez picked up an injury to further deplete Liverpool’s already threadbare options at center-back.
The visitors were down to 10 men as Wataru Endo waited to replace Gomez when Bournemouth doubled their lead.
Milos Kerkez was caught sleeping on his return to the Vitality Stadium to allow Jimenez to sneak in behind and slot in his first Bournemouth goal.
Van Dijk atoned for his previous error to begin the Liverpool fightback when he headed in Szoboszlai’s corner.
- Reward for positivity -
Andy Robertson replaced Kerkez at half-time despite being linked with a move to Tottenham before the transfer window closes in just over a week’s time.
Liverpool had little to show for their domination of the ball in the second period until Szoboszlai’s strike sparked a wild finale.
The Hungarian slotted a free-kick under the Marseille wall on Wednesday and this time used a flick from Cody Gakpo to work an angle to blast into the far corner.
Almost straight from kick-off, Liverpool needed Alisson Becker to produce a brilliant save from Ryan Christie to prevent Bournemouth retaking the lead.
Evanilson then wasted a glorious chance to win the game when the Brazilian slotted wide with just Alisson to beat.
Bournemouth could also have lost it when goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic made a fine save to prevent Florian Wirtz from finding the bottom corner.
But Andoni Iraola’s men were rewarded for going for the win when Adli smashed in from a narrow angle after Liverpool failed to clear a long throw.
Victory lifts Bournemouth up to 13th and 10 points clear of the relegation zone.
