Club Brugge rally from 3-0 down to sink Maribor

Club Brugge KV are on the verge of a place in the UEFA Europa League round of 32 after coming from three down with 17 minutes remaining to beat NK Maribor 4-3. Four goals in 16 second-half minutes earned Christoph Daum's men the Group H points, after a Dalibor Volaš double and Ryan Donk's own goal seemed to have given the hosts an unassailable 3-0 lead. Björn Vleminckx crashed a header off the crossbar early on and it looked a costly miss when Volaš put Maribor ahead, firing into the top left corner after Michael Almebäck's clearance was charged down. Five minutes into the second half the hosts doubled their lead, a sliding Donk turning Dejan Trajkovski's low centre beyond his own keeper. Maribor made it 3-0 on 68 minutes. Dejan Mezga's corner was flicked on at the near post by Marcos Tavares, and Volaš stabbed the ball over the line for his fourth of the group stage. However, that goal stung Club Brugge to life, and Nabil Dirar was prominent in the visitor's fightback. On 74 minutes the Moroccan international coolly tucked Jimmy De Jonghe's back-post cross into the far corner before his deflected low drive from the edge of the area wrong-footed Jasmin Handanovi? three minutes later. Joseph Akpala scored the equaliser with eight minutes left, smartly controlling a chipped pass with his first touch and firing into the top corner with his second. With the home crowd restless and confidence draining from the hosts, Club Brugge completed a remarkable turnaround on 90 minutes. Vleminckx headed Niki Zimling's deep free-kick back across goal and Donk headed in emphatically from close range. There was still time for Volaš to hit the post after a goalmouth scramble, but the Maribor striker could not complete his hat-trick to snatch a draw.