Cercle Brugge 3–3 Sint-Truiden | Pro League | 14 August 2026

Result Summary

A breathless six-goal thriller at Cercle Brugge ended all square, as the hosts mounted a remarkable late comeback to deny Sint-Truiden what had looked like a comfortable away victory. Ryan Merlen's brace and a Nelson Ishiwatari strike put Sint-Truiden firmly in the driving seat, only for Erick Nunes Barbosa dos Santos and a dramatic Loïc Mbe Soh own goal in the 93rd minute to snatch a share of the spoils for Lars Friis's side.

Match Analysis

From the very first whistle, Sint-Truiden served notice of their ambitions. Ryan Merlen opened the scoring inside 60 seconds, finishing with his right foot from an Ilias Sebaoui assist, setting an electric tone. Cercle Brugge responded with growing pressure, and Steve Ngoura levelled matters on 28 minutes with a right-footed strike to restore parity ahead of the half-hour mark.

The equilibrium was short-lived. Merlen struck again in the 37th minute, this time assisted by Robert-Jan Vanwesemael, to restore Sint-Truiden's advantage heading into the break. Then, almost immediately after the restart, Nelson Ishiwatari added a third on 47 minutes, again with Sebaoui providing the creative spark. Suddenly, Sint-Truiden led 3–1 and appeared to be coasting toward three points.

The statistics, however, told a different story about territorial dominance. Cercle Brugge registered 26 total shots to Sint-Truiden's 13, generated 116 attacks to Sint-Truiden's 64, and produced 60 dangerous attacks compared to just 24 from the visitors. With 10 corners to Sint-Truiden's 3 and 16 key passes to their opponents' 9, the home side were clearly the more ambitious team in terms of attacking output — they simply lacked the clinical edge to convert that pressure into goals during the critical middle period.

Coach Friis made bold changes from the bench. Erick Nunes Barbosa dos Santos entered on 73 minutes, and the impact was immediate — he reduced the deficit with a composed left-footed finish on 82 minutes. With the game in its final exchanges, his influence proved decisive once more, as his delivery led to Loïc Mbe Soh turning the ball into his own net in the 93rd minute, completing one of the more dramatic endings of the early season.

Sint-Truiden's discipline also came under pressure, accumulating three yellow cards — Ishiwatari (18'), Joedrick Pupe (57'), and Mbe Soh (79') — while Cercle Brugge remained unblemished in that regard.

Prediction Review

Our pre-match forecast called for a 1–1 draw, with the draw given a 27% probability and a confidence rating of just 48/100 — reflecting genuine uncertainty about this fixture. While the scoreline ultimately diverged significantly from the 1–1 forecast, the draw outcome was correctly identified, making this a successful prediction in terms of match result. The high-scoring nature of the game, however, underlined just how volatile this contest was — something the modest confidence rating arguably hinted at.

Key Takeaways

• Ryan Merlen was Sint-Truiden's standout performer, scoring twice and causing problems all evening with Ilias Sebaoui providing the creative link.
• Erick Nunes Barbosa dos Santos was a game-changer off the bench for Cercle Brugge, directly influencing both late goals after coming on at the 73rd minute.
• Cercle Brugge's dominance in attacking metrics (shots, attacks, corners) was not reflected on the scoreboard for long periods, highlighting a finishing inefficiency that will concern coach Lars Friis.
• For Frédéric De Meyer's Sint-Truiden, surrendering a two-goal lead so late will be a painful lesson in game management, despite the enormous positive of Merlen's early-