Nicky Hayen: "Mature in every aspect of the game"
Club taught Anderlecht a thing or two about efficiency, earning a 0-3 win at the capital. A satisified Club T1 reflected upon his team's performance. "We expected a tough game, but we were mature in every aspect of the game. We were concentrated, except for a few details, and beat Anderlecht 0-3. On a rough pitch. No reason not to be satisfied."
At a certain point in the game, Club was maybe playing a bit too comfortably, allowing Anderlecht a few chances too easily. "That's right, that's what I meant with those details or errors. At a certain point you are so in control of the game, and you start making those short passes, play into their pressure too much, with too much unnecessary ball loss. It makes you give them an opportunity to score. But when you're 0-3 ahead, it's something that creeps in almost unnoticed. We should keep that very mature stance, and remain clinical, and that's what we did the entire game. We should address those minor things, but it's just a mere footnote in today's great performance."
A very mature performance too, with high quality. "Prior to the game we told ourselves we are a very good team when we all do our jobs at 100%. We really wanted to maintain that focus and not get rattled by the circumstances, such as the pitch coming loose. It's something we just need to adjust too. When you keep yourself from losing energy by it and focus on the things you are doing well, you can go far. That's what we wanted today, setting Anderlecht up with an 11 point gap. I do believe we showed this was our intention from the very first second."
The Unbeaten Run just keeps going for Club, with some vital games coming up. "I see this as a positive thing. Lots of games, that's right, but that's what the players want. It's a hefty period of the year, but we're in a winning flow and the players are all following. You can see just how fine the atmosphere is within our group, and we need to continue along those lines for as long as we can. You do realise that the longer an unbeaten run is going, the closer you get to that defeat. We want to postpone that for as long as we can. Just take a look at how we play and how we present ourselves, in a very mature fashion, we just want to keep that up for as long as we can", a satisfied Nicky Hayen concluded.
Ferran Jutglà: "Grab those chances with both hands"
Two crucial first half goals helped Ferran Jutglà to that coveted ‘Man of the Match’ award. A broad smiled graced the Catalan's face as he addressed the press: “A crucial win for us, and even if the press and analysts saw this as an easy win, it's stil a hard fought one. It took some fighting for us, but thanks to a very solid team performance we manage to take the three points home. Kudos to our technical staff, who managed to dot the i's and cross the t's as to our tactical approach for this game, after they saw how Anderlecht wanted to take us on tactically. The way they took this on was of great importance."
When asked just how important these goals were to him personally, Jutglà was clear: “It's obviously always great to be scoring twice, it helps to boost your confidence. On the other hand, it's not a performance indicator either, as you always have to keep working hard and stick to your tasks, no matter where you are positioned. I know I won't be able to claim a fixed place in the Starting XI, so it's up to me to grab those chances with both hands. It worked out well for me today, but I want to keep scoring for this beautiful club in the future. Apparently we haven't lost 16 games on a spin but that shouldn't come as a reason to start relaxing. We're in a great flow now and we should do what it takes to continue on like that. We will keep working on those three stages, and we will be making the most to keep playing for that silverware, both in Belgium and abroad. There's still a long road to cover, however, and that's why the players coming on are so important, we will be needing all of them badly later on.”
The Spanish striker also offered his two cents on next Wednesday's game against Genk: “Obviously I want to come out on top on Wednesday, but it will probably be a toss-up. Both Club and Genk are strong outfits, and it's no coincidence we top the league with this kind of gap.”
Hans Vanaken: “Mature game, comfortable win“
No goals for Hans Vanaken this time, but once again he was the man in charge at the reigning champions' team. “I think it's fair to say that we played a mature game here today, ending in a comfortable win. And this on a tough pitch, with too much unnecessary risktaking in our play. I don't agree to the statement that we only played at 70 to 80% of our capacities to thwart Anderlecht, even if their line-up did surprise me at first. It allowed us the most possession, playing on their side of the pitch most of the time. The way they played was to our advantage. But again, we had too much ball loss, particularly in the first half, we did better in the second half in that respect. In the end, 0-3 is just a great win here.”
Simon Mignolet: “Scoren with impeccable timing“
The tactical approach of the hosts also surprised Simon Mignolet: “We came well prepared having analysed their last few games, and we felt like we would know just how they would be taking us on. Fortunately we were able to tweak well just before kick-off, and all in all we didn't have that much trouble here. I was ready when I was called upon. It helped us keep the momentum, after we managed to score with solid timing. That 0-3 also arrived with fine timing, you never know what can happen when it's 0-2 and that goal comes. But Nilsson's goal really cut off Anderlecht's breath, and it was done and dusted. Thanks to the boys who made the difference here today, also scoring from textbook situations."