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Catch up with all the action from Arsenal’s visit to Club Brugge in the Champions League
Arsenal produced a commanding performance in Belgium, defeating Club Brugge 3-0 to maintain their perfect Champions League record.
A first-half strike from Madueke set the tone before the winger added a second early in the second half, with Martinelli completing the scoring shortly after.
The visitors started strongly. Odegaard forced an early save from Van den Heuvel, and Arsenal soon created a series of openings.
Lewis-Skelly miscued a shot that inadvertently set up Hincapie, whose improvised finish clipped the post. Moments later, Gyokeres saw a goal-bound header blocked.
Arsenal finally broke through midway into the half. Drifting centrally, Madueke drove at the retreating defence and unleashed a powerful left-footed strike from distance that crashed off the underside of the crossbar and into the net.
Brugge responded well after conceding. Forbs led multiple attacks, and a few intricate moves between Vanaken and Tzolis tested Arsenal.
Their best chance fell to Stankovic, who was sent clean through but saw his low effort saved by Raya. The goalkeeper denied the Serbian again in added time, preserving the 1-0 lead at the interval after a lively and balanced first half.
Arsenal turn it on
Arsenal extended their advantage almost immediately after the restart. Working play down the left, the visitors found space for Zubimendi to lift a cross to the far post, where Madueke arrived unmarked to power a header high into the net.
The hosts continued to push, though. Raya dealt with long-range efforts from Tzolis and controlled the tempo in moments where Brugge attempted to unsettle Arsenal’s back line.
Brugge’s best opening of the half came when Furo struck powerfully from a tight angle, forcing Raya to parry into a dangerous area, but the rebound skipped away from Forbs at the crucial moment.
The Belgian champions also saw Meijer shoot narrowly wide after finding space on the left.
Moments later, Martinelli cut inside from the left and, from the edge of the area, curved a right-footed strike into the top corner.
The finish extended his club Champions League scoring streak to five consecutive matches and effectively settled the contest.
The final minutes saw Arsenal manage the match comfortably, despite Brugge enjoying extended spells of possession. Jesus struck the crossbar with a rising effort, and Nwaneri forced a late save as the visitors continued to create chances on the break.
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