It won’t go down as the finest performance of Andreas Skov Olsen’s career, with Club Brugge defeating an out-of-sorts Bayer Leverkusen in their UEFA Champions League opener on Wednesday night. But the history books will show that it was he who ensured the Belgian giants kick-started their group-stage campaign with three vital points as they look to reach the knockout rounds for the very first time.
With half-time looming, Skov Olsen flashed a wicked cross into the near post. One which Abakar Sylla stooped to convert. In truth, following a delivery of such exquisite quality, it would have been harder to miss.
“He’s changed from an almost hopeless position in January,” former Denmark international Mads Junker tells TV2; hailing of a man who’s given his stuttering career an almighty shot in the arm after leaving the Bologna bench for a new start on Belgian soil.
“It is an example of how extremely fast things can go in football. And what can happen when you take a step down to the right level.
“He probably has to focus on playing so well that he goes to the World Cup. But from there it is natural to look ahead to January (2023), depending on how the World Cup goes. He could be like (Mikkel) Damsgaard at the European Championships, where the big clubs are looking at you.”
Andreas Skov Olsen a Champions League matchwinner
Junker may well have a point. Club Brugge have cashed in on Charles de Ketelaere, Odilon Kossounou, Emmanuel Dennis, Arnaut Danjuma and co in recent windows. It seems only a matter of time before Skov Olsen gets a second chance in one of Europe’s major leagues.
As far as Rangers are concerned, however, the Skov Olsen ship has long since left the harbour.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Glasgow giants failed with a £5 million bid for the 22-year-old eight months ago; Skov Olsen opting to don Brugge’s number seven shirt instead. If the reigning Belgian Champions were to cash in just one year after freeing the winger from his Serie A shackles, they would almost certainly make a substantial profit on a player who has contributed eight goals and assists from nine games this term, all the while showcasing his ability to make a difference on the biggest stage of all on a night in which Rangers suffered a brutal reality check at the hands of a rip-roaring Ajax.
Amongst the myriad of problems successive 4-0 defeats have exposed, the lack of star quality on the right-wing remains a bone of serious contention. Ironically, it was from that very position that Skov Olsen laid the foundations for Brugge’s winner while Rangers were counting down the seconds until the final whistle put them out of their misery in the Dutch capital.
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