Braga 3-4 Genk: Warriors stunned by Belgians in wild Europa League encounter | OneFootball

Braga lost their 100% record in the Europa League in an electric match at the Quarry on Thursday night. Leading 1-0 at the end of the first half after a dominant display, the hosts conceded either side of the break and never recovered control of the match, ending up on the wrong side of the scoreline in a seven-goal thriller.

With the excellent Rodrigo Zalazar and Gabri Martínez in sparkling form, Braga looked a class above their opponents in the opening 45 minutes and were good value for the lead they grabbed in the 30th minute. It was no surprise that Zalazar was the scorer, the Uruguayan smashing in a shot from a central position from the top of the box.

Turning point

In first-half stoppage time the Belgians won two corners, with the Braga bench complaining that the second one should not have been taken as the one minute of added time allotted by the referee had passed. Daan Heymans duly headed in the cross and it proved the turning point of the match.

A poor pass by Gorby upon the restart was pounced on by Genk, Sor smashing the ball into the net off the bar. Things went from bad to worse for the home team when Oh Hyun-gyu scored after more questionable defending from Braga to make it 3-1 to Genk.

Zalazar briefly gave Braga renewed hope of salvaging something from the match when he headed in Ricardo Horta’s cross, but one minute later Yaimar Medina restored Genk’s two-goal buffer.

But the scoring had not finished, and when substitute Fran Navarro scored after a scramble in the box, Braga had five minutes plus stoppage time to try and find an equaliser. Lagerbielke came close with a header that sailed narrowly over the bar but it wasn’t to be.

“We lacked freshness” - Vicens

The Warriors remain well-placed in the Europa League at the halfway stage after three wins in their first three games, and next travel to Glasgow to take on Rangers.

“In terms of effort I cannot fault the players, but we have to correct some aspects,” said Braga coach Carlos Vicens post-match. “We lacked freshness and precision, which our opponents had.”