Braga Pull Off Historic Win
In what was the single biggest match in the ninety-five year history of Sporting Clube de Braga, they surely delivered the goods against Spanish giants FC Barcelona as they defeated Los Culés 2-0 at the Estádio AXA in what was a near sellout at Braga's home ground.
It was a dull first-half to start with, as Braga dominated the shots tally, taking nine shots in the first half compared to Barcelona's five attempts, however, the Catalans dominated the possession throughout the match, having 52% at the end of the match.
As soon as the teams were out for the second half and the referees whistle screeched across the stadium, Braga fans were about to witness the single biggest forty-five minutes in the clubs history, as ten minutes after the second half began, January signing
Wellington Nem glided past a Deulofeu challenge on the half-way line. He then went onto dribble down the wing, with Dani Alves making no attempt at trying to tackle his fellow Brazilian teammate. Nem, sent in what looked like a cross towards Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi, but caught German keeper ter Stegen far off his line as it lobbed over the helpless keeper into the far side netting much to the delight of the twenty-eight thousand Braga fans packed into the stadium.
With just ten minutes remaining, more joy was about to erupt in the ground as a Michy Batshuayi shot was tipped around the post by Marc-André ter Stegen, leading to a corner. Portuguese winger Bruma took the corner for Braga, he took it with his right foot, meaning it would outswing away from the goal. The inward curve of the cross caught ter Stegen well offguard as he was already off of his line, ready to grab hold of the ball ahead of anyone else, but it found Brazilian defender André Ramalho, who had been loaned out to Brazilian side Botafogo for the first part of the season, and headed it home, inserting his name into Braga's history books in a win that would be remembered for many years to come.
"I'm so happy for the fans for all their support over the years, and this win is us paying back those fans for sticking with us throughout all the misery of recent years. They've been superb and deserve a huge night out tonight. I know that's what me and the team will be doing, as unprofessional as it sounds but they deserve it after tonight, it was like a dream. I've always wanted to help the club since I fell in love with here as a child, and I think I might have fulfilled that dream tonight. You would not believe the happiness going through me right now." Said the gaffer Azevedo before being sprayed by his team with bottles of champagne, you can see how much it means to everyone involved at Braga, and certainly signals to a new era of domination for the club.