Vanaken (45+2), Seys (50th minute) and Forbs (72nd or 73rd minute, depending on source) scored at the Jan Breydel Stadium on 21 October, lifting Brugge to six points.
Lens created the clearer chances before the break, including a Franjo Ivanovic effort that hit the far post, but went into half-time behind after Vanaken's added-time goal.
L'Equipe gave Brugge goalkeeper Yann Sommer a rating of 8, with saves including one from a Junior Kadile header.
Brugge travel to PSV Eindhoven on 4 November, and the fixture list then includes Liverpool at home and Napoli away before the winter break.
Club Brugge beat RC Lens 3-0 on 21 October at the Jan Breydel Stadium, a Champions League result that lifts the Belgian champions to six points after three matchdays. Lens had the better of the opening half. Thorgan Hazard, who was surprisingly named in the starting line-up, forced Yann Sommer into action from a free kick in the opening quarter-hour, and Franjo Ivanovic, a former Union Saint-Gilloise player, then struck the far post. Lens fans threw flares onto the pitch shortly before the interval, forcing a brief stoppage. Brugge found the breakthrough in added time at the end of the first half, when Lens goalkeeper Robin Risser could not clear a shot from Nicolo Tresoldi after a corner, and Vanaken scored from close range.
Brugge came out after the break with more control. Joaquin Seys made it 2-0 in the 50th minute, a goal De Standaard credited to his determination on the rebound of his own effort. Carlos Forbs added the third in the second half, in the 72nd minute according to De Morgen and the 73rd according to RTBF. De Standaard noted that Forbs had less room than a week earlier but still produced a goal and an assist. Tresoldi had a hand in both the first and third goals, and De Standaard recorded Vanaken's strike as his 13th Champions League goal.
Yann Sommer, the Swiss goalkeeper, made several decisive saves, including one from a Junior Kadile header, and L'Equipe gave him a rating of 8 and named him man of the match. Jorne Spileers cleared a Kadile effort off the line late in the first half. French newspapers described Lens as defenceless and punished by Belgian efficiency, while Le Parisien said the visitors had dominated but wasted a near-perfect first half. Lens had already struggled this season, parting ways with new German coach Dino Toppmoller six matchdays in after an internal conflict. His successor, Yannick Cahuzac, had to deal with injuries in defence. According to De Standaard, Cahuzac also rested captain Florian Thauvin, his best player, an hour before kick-off.
The win moves Brugge up to 11th place in the Champions League table on six points. Their campaign began with a 2-3 home defeat to Aston Villa in the opener, before a 3-4 win at Inter Milan a week earlier. PSV Eindhoven away on 4 November is the next fixture. After that comes a home match against Liverpool and a trip to Napoli before the winter break. After the New Year, Brugge visit Stuttgart and finish at home against Bodo/Glimt. De Morgen noted that last season at least nine points were needed for a place in the top 24 playoff round, and sixteen for a top eight finish.
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Hans Vanaken, Joaquin Seys and Carlos Forbs scored for Club Brugge at the Jan Breydel Stadium on 21 October after Lens had controlled much of the first half. The win gives the Belgian champions six points after three Champions League matchdays, with PSV Eindhoven next on 4 November.
AI text based on reports by 7sur7, De Morgen, RTBF and other publishers. Published .