Braga march on in Europa League with 2-0 victory over Crvena Zvezda | OneFootball

Three games, three victories, five goals scored and zero conceded. That is Braga’s impeccable record in this season’s Europa League following a 2-0 victory over Crvena Zvezda this afternoon at the Quarry.

Doubts that surrounded new coach Carlos Vicens’ suitability for the job continue to dissipate in view of improved recent performances.

The ease with which Braga overcame the 8-time Serbian champions is all the more surprising given what we witnessed down the road in the last round of Europa League matches, when it needed a last-gasp Rodrigo Mora goal for FC Porto to beat the same opposition.

No such worries for Braga who dominated the 90 minutes, and with better finishing the hosts could have racked up a thrashing. From the defensive point of view the Warriors were also almost perfect, and become the first team this season to prevent Crvena Zvezda from scoring.

Captain Ricardo Horta was the main man for Braga, providing two excellent passes for Fran Navarro (22’) and Mario Dorgeles (72’) to score the goals, and it should have been a hat-trick of assists when his clever touch set up Leonardo Lelo, only for the normally reliable left-back to produce one of the misses of the season by skying his effort over the bar with the goal gaping.

It mattered little as the result was never in doubt, and before the later games tonight Braga proudly sit atop the Europa League table. With matches against Genk, Rangers and Go Ahead Eagles still to come, Vicens will fancy his chances of guiding the club to automatic qualification to the round of sixteen.