Belgium 2 Romania 0: Red Devils bounce back after horror Euro 2024 opener with all Group E sides level on three points

KEVIN DE Bruyne finally got the reward he deserved for a night of brilliance to lead Belgium back from their Slovakia nightmare.

Skipper De Bruyne was simply everywhere for Domenico Tedesco’s side, urging them forward and refusing to countenance anything other than victory.

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Tielemans roars with relief and joy after his breakthrough[/caption]

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Kevin De Bruyne bagged the second and celebrates with Amadou Onana[/caption]

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Playmaker De Bruyne slid in for what was more like a striker’s finish[/caption]

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Tielemans tumbles on the edge of the D as he nets Belgium’s opener[/caption]

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Belgium’s Villa star Tielemans struck after just two minutes[/caption]

And it was only fitting that KDB sealed victory as the Red Devils finally added to Youri Tielemans‘ second minute strike to ensure a four-way last day shoot-out for Group E.

Despite the perfect start, De Bruyne and his colleagues had been left frustrated time and again as a series of chances were spurned.

A night of frenzied entertainment also left Romelu Lukaku cursing the VAR booth in Leipzig for the THIRD time in two matches after he had slotted home from a peerless KDB pass.

But with 10 minutes to go, De Bruyne was the first to react as Keon Casteels’ goal kick bounced all the way through into the Romania box, getting there just before keeper Florin Nita to poke home. 

It was the fitting end to a performance  of majesty from the Manchester City magician, justifying Tedesco’s brave selection calls.

The manager shook things up with four changes, including a return for former Spurs veteran Jan Vertonghen and with Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard benched.

It meant De Bruyne in a more advanced role, too.

And within 73 seconds of the start, that adventure paid off.

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Romelu Lukaku celebrates after briefly thinking he’d doubled Belgium’s lead[/caption]

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Lukaku stylishly finishes off a pass from Kevin De Bruyne but VAR ruled out what would have been Belgium’s second goal for offside[/caption]

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Tielemans was involved, crucially, at both ends, winning the ball to send Lukaku driving forward.

He fed Jeremy Doku, who took advantage of De Bruyne’s dummy run to return the favour.

Lukaku, back to goal, laid off, with Tielemans’ instant strike threading the gap between Romania’s two centre-halves and whistling past the keeper.

Relief and delight for the Red Devils and their bellowing, raucous fans.

Romania responded, only a flying fingertip save by keeper Koen Casteels denying Spurs defender Radu Dragusin an instant leveller from a fine header.

Yet Belgium just kept on coming, five and six at a time flooding forward, and Lukaku could have put the game to bed when he was again found by Doku.

Centre-back Andrei Burca simply bounced off the Chelsea man, no match for his sheer strength and it looked as if Lukaku would sweep home only for a desperate last-gasp block to deflect behind.

Nita thwarted Dodi Lukebakio’s curler after De Bruyne surged forward with trademark menace, Vertonghen shooting over from the resulting short corner routine.

This was Belgium, pressing high and hard, at their most persuasive.

Doku was a constant fizzball of energy and threat on the left, too, especially when he dovetailed with De Bruyne, requiring another smart stop by Nita as he tried to squeeze into the near post.

It was a wildly open game, both defences exposed under pressure, Romania equally willing to throw the dice.

Romania right winger Dennis Man tested Casteels twice after coming off his flank while Valentin Mihaila burst through the middle to get the yellow throng leaping but failed to keep his effort down.

From one end to the other, De Bruyne then fractionally wide of the far post from the edge of the box before bringing the keeper to his knees once more.

Doku fired into the side-netting after another De Bruyne break before Lukaku looked to have finally capitalised on his captain’s brilliance, stroking home after a perfect through ball.

Just as happened twice against Slovakia, the VAR call went against him again, Lukaku ruled offside – maybe by half a toenail – as he powered away. 

It was hard not to feel sympathy for the big man.

Had Man capitalised on a lapse by left-back Arthur Theate, instead allowing Casteels to save when he looked odds-on to score, you wonder if Belgium might have capsized from sheer despair.

But he did not, they did not, and De Bruyne then struck to take his side joint top of the table, although with everything on the line for all four teams on Wednesday.

Belgium: Casteels; Castagne, Faes, Vertonghen, Theate (Debast 77); Tielemans (Mangala 72), Onana; Lukebakio (Trossard 56), De Bruyne, Doku (Carrasco 73); Lukaku

Romania: Nita; Ratiu (Sorescu 90), Dragusin, Burca, Bancu; R Marin, M Marin (Olaru 68), Stanciu; Man, Dragus (Alibec 81), Mihaila (Hagi 68)