Canadians in Europe: David scores highlight-reel goal
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Promise David scored a highlight-reel goal in the first match of the Belgian Pro League's Championship Round. Plus, Ismaël Koné netted his first Ligue 1 goal and Charles-Andreas Brym helped Almere City in their relegation fight.
Here's a look at Canadians in Europe over the weekend.
Promise David, Union SG
The Belgian Pro League features one of the more complicated formats in European football. After 30 games, there is a split among the 16 teams. The top six sides go into the Championship Round. They have their point totals halved and will play each other once home and away to determine a champion. So while Genk had a nine-point lead over Club Brugge after 30 games, it became a four-point lead to start the Championship Round. The rest of the Championship Round is comprised of Union SG, Anderlecht, Antwerp and Gent. The next six teams make up the Conference League Play-Off Group. With the same format as the Championship Round, the winner of that group is rewarded with a spot in next year's Europa Conference League. Finally, there is the Relegation Round, where the bottom four teams try to escape the drop. All three new groups kicked off this past weekend, but our focus is on the Championship Round. Brampton, Ont.'s Promise David and Union SG entered the round in third place, trailing Genk by six points. They opened play at home against Antwerp on Saturday and it couldn't have gone much better. After Anan Khalaili opened the scoring for the hosts in only the fourth minute, it was time for David to put on a show in the 14th. Sprung in behind the Antwerp backline by Anouar Ait El Hadj, David sprinted at goal with Rosen Bozhinov literally draped all over him. The Bulgaria defender's grip on David was so tight that he was ripping the shirt from his back. Finally shaking him off, David then cut outside Jairo Riedewald and beat Senne Lamens to make it 2-0 with a highlight reel goal. The announcers could only giggle. A defiant David, wearing only half of a shirt, celebrated with supporters. After the match, he was asked what was going through his head on the play and why he didn't just go to ground and look for a call. "I had hope," David told DAZN Belgium. "And the more he pulled me, the more I got pissed and just kept going. My coaches always tell me I'm strong, so I just believed in myself and kept going. Plus, it was a risk. If I fall, it's a red [card on Bozhinov], I think? I work too hard to fall, so I was like, 'Why not?'" Lucky to escape with only a yellow on the play, Bozhinov wouldn't be as lucky later in the half as he was sent off in stoppage for a second booking. Franjo Ivanovic scored a brace and Koki Machida added another in a 5-1 win for Union. For David, it was his 11th goal on the season.
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Ismaël Koné, Rennes
Ismaël Koné's first season in Ligue 1 has been a trying one for the 22-year-old CF Montreal academy product. After two seasons at Watford, Koné signed for Marseille in a £15 move last summer. The transition to France wasn't a seamless one with Koné finding himself frequently called out in public by manager Roberto De Zerbi. In a move that was probably for the best for all parties, Koné joined Rennes on loan for the remainder of the season in France. On Sunday, the team created some more daylight away from the drop zone with a 3-0 win over Angers with Koné opening his account in Ligue 1. Koné started the match on the bench. The visitors opened the scoring in the 13th, completing a fine team move out from the back. Kazeem Olaigbe broke down the left before finding Arnaud Kalimuendo just inside the area. The Rennes No. 9 would beat Yahia Fofana with a right-footed shot to make it 1-0, but that wouldn't be Kalimuendo's last contribution of the match. After the game entered the break at the 1-0 scoreline, Koné was brought on in the 63rd in place of Seko Fofana. It wouldn't take long for him to make an impact. Taking a pass from Kalimuendo in the 70th, Koné made himself a little bit of space just outside the 18-yard box and unleashed a right-footed rocket past a diving Fofana to make it 2-0. He couldn't have picked a much better goal for his first. Koné and Kalimuendo would get together on one more goal for the end of the match. In stoppage, the trailing Koné took a pass just inside the area, got a step on his defender and crossed it over to Kalimuendo to tap into the empty net to wrap up the three points at 3-0. The win took Rennes into 12th and eight points clear of Le Havre in the drop zone.
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Charles-Andreas Brym, Almere City
The chances of Almere City avoiding the drop remain slim, but Montreal's Charles-Andreas Brym and the rest of the team did what they could to stay in the fight on Saturday against a team they're directly chasing in Willem II. The relegation format in the Eredivisie isn't as straightforward as it is elsewhere. The team that finish last and second-last in the 18-team league are automatically relegated to the Eerste Divisie, but the team that finishes in 16th still has a shot to stay up. The teams that finish as champions and runners-up of the Eerste Divisie receive automatic promotions, while the teams that finish from third to eighth enter a playoff with the 16th-place Eredivisie team with the winner playing in the Eredivisie in the following season. Almere City entered Saturday's game in 17th, trailing Willem II by nine points. Anything less than a win would virtually condemn them to relegation. It was Brym who got things started early for the visitors, taking advantage of terrible miscommunication in the back for Willem II. Brym pressured Raffael Behounek into a risky back pass to goalkeeper Thomas Didillon. Didillon was then far too casual on the ball and his first touch escaped him. As he tried desperately to clear it, his kick was deflected by Brym into the empty net from six yards out in the 12th minute to make it 1-0. The goal was Brym's third on the season and second in consecutive matches. Since arriving from Sparta Rotterdam in January, Brym now has six goal contributions in 10 league appearances. Things would go from bad to worse for the hosts in the 32nd. After a lengthy VAR check, Kyan Vaesen was sent off for a rash, studs-up lunge at Wales defender James Lawrence. Vaesen was immediately given a yellow, but after a call from upstairs, the referee checked and upgraded it to a red. Almere City would wrap up the victory just after the restart. Marvin da Graca was first to a Thom Haye corner, heading home in the 49th to make it 2-0. With Willem II on 10 men, the comeback never took off. The victory takes Almere City within six points of Willem II in 16th and 10 behind Sparta in 15th. Staying up remains a tall order.