Cercle Brugge vs 14.08.26 18:453 – 3Full Time
St. Truiden — Jupiler Pro League: stats, lineups & analysis
Match report
Mbe Soh own goal denies Cercle Brugge as St. Truiden share the points 3-3
Cercle Brugge and St. Truiden shared six goals in a thrilling Jupiler Pro League contest at Jan Breydel Stadion, the visitors twice leading by two goals only for a stoppage-time own goal to complete a dramatic Cercle Brugge comeback and secure a 3-3 draw on matchday two.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data.
St. Truiden struck inside the first minute when Ryan Merlen converted an Ilias Sebaoui assist. Steve Ngoura levelled for Cercle Brugge in the 28th minute, but Merlen restored the lead six minutes before half-time, finishing off a Robert-Jan Vanwesemael assist to send the sides in at 1-2. Nelson Ishiwatari extended the away side's advantage two minutes into the second half, latching onto another Sebaoui pass to make it 1-3.
Cercle Brugge dragged themselves back into contention when Erick reduced the deficit in the 82nd minute, and deep into stoppage time Loïc Mbe Soh turned the ball into his own net to complete a 3-3 scoreline that denied St. Truiden victory in the closing seconds.
Cercle Brugge dominated territory and chances throughout, outshooting their visitors 20 to 9 and holding 53% of possession, yet it was St. Truiden who made their limited openings count with greater efficiency before the late equaliser turned the game on its head.
Ryan Merlen scored twice for St. Truiden, including the opener inside the first minute, and finished with a match-high rating of 8.3.
Cercle Brugge's 20 shots to St. Truiden's 9 underlined their territorial dominance, even though it was the visitors who led for most of the match.
Cercle Brugge and St. Truiden drew 3–3 (half-time 1–2).
Cercle Brugge met St. Truiden in the Jupiler Pro League (Regular Season - 2). Kick-off was Friday, 14 August 2026, 18:45 UTC at Jan Breydel Stadium. Referee: Jan Boterberg.
Team pages: Cercle Brugge · St. Truiden · Jupiler Pro League
Key moments
- 1' Goal: Ryan Merlen (assist: Ilias Sebaoui) — 0–1
- 28' Goal: Steve Ngoura — 1–1
- 37' Goal: Ryan Merlen (assist: Robert-Jan Vanwesemael) — 1–2
- 47' Goal: Nelson Ishiwatari (assist: Ilias Sebaoui) — 1–3
- 82' Goal: Erick — 2–3
- 90' Goal (own goal): Loïc Mbe Soh — 3–3
Starting line-ups
Cercle Brugge (3-4-2-1)
St. Truiden (4-2-3-1)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave Cercle Brugge 23%, the draw 24%, St. Truiden 53%. It finished Cercle Brugge 3–3 St. Truiden.
St. Truiden's rating gap outweighs Cercle Brugge's home ground — St. Truiden are clearly the stronger side on our strength rating, and the early-season home fade on top gives St. Truiden the lean. The draw at 24% is held down by a high-scoring environment.
Why St. Truiden at 53%?
St. Truiden sit 211 points higher on our strength rating — 1493 to 1704. Sides with a 200–300-point rating edge on the road won 52.0% of 6,016 such games. Both sides are inside their first six league games — home wins land softer this early in the season, so this trims Cercle Brugge's column. Across 10,546 opening-stretch games since 2010, home sides won 42.8% where the rating map expected 44.9%, with draws up 2.1 — negative in every season since 2018. The 300 most similar past games finished 27–29–44.
Why only 53%?
No scored evidence points the other way. 53% is what this rating gap has been worth in games like these; the rest is the draw at 24% and Cercle Brugge at 23%.
Why the draw at 24%?
With a rating gap this size the draw starts at 24.0%. These teams' recent games average 3.3 goals — a high-scoring environment. Games in that environment drew 22.8% of 16,908. The goals environment takes 2.1 points off the draw. Early-season fixtures add 2.1 points to the draw.
What did we measure but not count?
St. Truiden average 9 points more possession, but the rating gap here is 211 points. Our control receipt only exists between near-equals — there it moved results; across a class gap we could not measure a separate style edge, so style scores 0 here. St. Truiden have gained 63 strength-rating points over their last 10 games. Momentum is measured but not yet proven: climbing sides won 41.5% of 12,147 such games vs 40.7% class-expected — inside the noise band, so it stays at 0 points until the receipt clears its evidence bar. The other measured facts on this page scored nothing either.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the Cercle Brugge vs St. Truiden final score and result, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this Jupiler Pro League fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
The full match report above covers the goals, key moments and stats. Explore more on the Cercle Brugge and St. Truiden team pages or the Jupiler Pro League page.
Quick answers
›What was the final score of Cercle Brugge vs St. Truiden?
Cercle Brugge and St. Truiden drew 3–3 (half-time 1–2).
›Who scored in Cercle Brugge vs St. Truiden?
Ryan Merlen (1') for St. Truiden; Steve Ngoura (28') for Cercle Brugge; Ryan Merlen (37') for St. Truiden; Nelson Ishiwatari (47') for St. Truiden; Erick (82') for Cercle Brugge; Loïc Mbe Soh (90') (own goal) for Cercle Brugge.
›Where can I watch Cercle Brugge vs St. Truiden highlights?
This page carries the full match report, stats and lineups for Cercle Brugge vs St. Truiden; goal clips are added as soon as official highlights are available.
›What is the head-to-head record between Cercle Brugge and St. Truiden?
Cercle Brugge and St. Truiden have met 10 times — 4 wins for Cercle Brugge, 3 wins for St. Truiden and 3 draws.