Hello Europe !

With everything to play for this evening, both sides started cautiously. The Girondins dominated possession, while the Belgians seemed happy to sit deep and observe. Bordeaux kept pushing forward and testing the visitors' defence, before finding an opening in the 10th minute. Connecting with a neat through ball from Lukas Lerager, François Kamano tore through the Gent back line and put the Girondins into the lead! Bordeaux kept things under control until the final whistle, with Benoît Costil producing another fine stop to turn away a tight-angled shot on his left side (88’). The game finished 2-0, sending the Girondins into the group stage of the Europa League! The European adventure has only just begun! Tomorrow afternoon we'll find out who Bordeaux will face over the coming months, when the official UEFA Europa League draw is announced. It's no exaggeration to say that this goal changed the whole game. Now obliged to get at least one goal, Gent began to attack in earnest. The Buffalos gave Benoît Costil a hard time, with Rosted's header scraping off the post (18’) and Chakvetadze hitting the crossbar (22’).  After this shaky spell, Bordeaux gradually restored their early dominance. They came tantalisingly close to a second goal just before the break, but the Gent keeper produced two fine saves to keep his team in the game and stop shots from both Samuel Kalu (35’) and Jimmy Briand (37’). After the break the visitors kept pushing for that elusive equaliser, but the Girondins were not about to let their lead slip away from them. Polish defensive stalwart Igor Lewczuk intervened to clear a potentially dangerous situation early on (50’). Eric Bedouet's side defended with vigour and pounced on any chance to counter-attack. Samuel Kalu was a constant menace, and when he sprinted into the penalty box in the 63rd minute the best the Gent defence could do was haul him down. The referee pointed to the spot, and Jimmy Briand slammed the penalty into the net (64’). Bordeaux were two goals clear, and the 35,039 fans packing out the Matmut ATLANTIQUE went wild! Bordeaux kept things under control until the final whistle, with Benoît Costil producing another fine stop to turn away a tight-angled shot on his left side (88’). The game finished 2-0, sending the Girondins into the group stage of the Europa League! The European adventure has only just begun! Tomorrow afternoon we'll find out who Bordeaux will face over the coming months, when the official UEFA Europa League draw is announced.