Molde Stride Towards Europa League Progression

Eliteserien side Molde took a commanding lead in the third preliminary round of the Europa League with a resounding 3-0 victory over Cercle Brugge at home in Norway.

Goals from Eriksen, Magnus Wolff Eikrem, and Martin Linnes in the first half left the Belgian side with a mountain to climb in the return leg at the Jan Breydel Stadium next week.

Cercle Brugge made a poor start, leaving gaps in their defence that Molde exploited almost immediately. Within three minutes, Eriksen latched onto a through ball and confidently slotted it between the legs of goalkeeper Warleson to give Molde an early lead.

Molde continued to assert their dominance in the opening stages, while Cercle struggled to string together meaningful attacks. After an earlier missed opportunity, Molde doubled their lead before the 20-minute mark when Wolff Eikrem found the net to make it 2-0.

Molde nearly extended their lead to 3-0 shortly after, with Eikrem again coming close, but his shot narrowly missed the target. However, Molde’s relentless pressure paid off ten minutes later. A well-worked move on the left opened up space on the right, where Linnes was found unmarked. He made no mistake, firing the ball into the net from a tight angle.

Cercle Brugge managed a few attempts to respond before the break. Ouattara came closest, heading against the crossbar from a Nazinho cross. In the second half, Denkey’s shot struck the grounded Ouattara, and a free-kick from the Togolese forward narrowly missed the target.

The second half saw more of the same as Molde controlled the game. Eikrem had a chance to add to his tally, but Warleson produced a fine save to keep the scoreline from worsening. The Brazilian goalkeeper was one of the few bright spots for Cercle, repeatedly denying Molde’s attackers, including another crucial stop against Eriksen after a well-worked move.

Molde remained a threat from set-pieces and nearly made it 4-0 when Breivik found himself with a chance after a corner, but his shot lacked accuracy. Cercle Brugge had a golden opportunity to pull one back when Somers, unmarked at the far post, had a chance to score, but his effort was cleared off the line.

In the final stages, Molde could extend their lead further when awarded a penalty. However, Breivik’s effort smashed against the crossbar, leaving the score at 3-0.

Cercle Brugge now faces a daunting task in the return leg in Bruges, needing to overturn a three-goal deficit to keep their Europa League hopes alive. Molde will be confident of finishing the job after a commanding performance in the first leg.