For one half they suffered from the peculiarity of this extraordinary encounter, which should also be a celebration for Christian Eriksen.
The Danish playmaker who collapsed in the Nordic duel with Finland at the start of the Danish appearances at this European Football Championship and had to be reanimated.
The Belgians, who came to Copenhagen on Thursday full of compassion for a valued friend and colleague and thus also part of an overall choreography of greetings to Eriksen from the Parken Stadium, did not find their game in the first 45 minutes. The world number one suffered from himself.
That changed after the early 0: 1 deficit by the goal of Leipzig professional Yussuf Poulsen (2nd minute) only after the break, as Kevin De Bruyne, the spiritus rector from the control center of the Belgian game, just three weeks after his eye socket fracture returned to the pitch from the Champions League final.
The midfield star of Manchester City, in his style of play as a tireless driver, infallible passport supplier and unwavering enforcer, a one-of-a-kind in world football, turned everything around in a duel in which the Belgians had long felt outnumbered.
"The game has changed"
“We didn't recognize ourselves in the first half,” said central defender Jan Vertonghen, describing the unstable emotional situation within the Red Devils, “we were always one step too late. When Kevin and later also Axel Witsel and Eden Hazard came, the game changed. They brought their extra quality with them. "
A 0-1 deficit, which could have been more pronounced at the break, turned into a 2-1 victory. Introduced by De Bruyne, who played the ball perfectly into the barrel for Dortmund attacker Thorgan Hazard (55th) and completed by De Bruyne (70th), who shot the winning goal flat and with clinical precision when he hit the Ball steered from thirteen meters into the left corner of the goal. A textbook hit for Playstation junkies. And thus also typical of De Bruyne, the master of flowing movement and omnipresent all-rounder from the offensive department.
Coach Roberto Martinez, happy to have the brains of the Belgian goal scoring department back with him, praised his universally thinking and acting gambler and surveyor: “Kevin is a wonderful player.
It's not just his talent that sets him apart.
It's also the way he works and how he trusts his skills. "
With the return of the navigation artist, his previously tense comrades, including the often pioneering center forward Romelu Lukaku, blossomed.
The Belgians, one of the title favorites of this European Championship, with their top team, which has matured over the years, now proved their reputation for exquisite class and qualified for the round of 16 after two group wins.
De Bruyne himself, once a top-class Bundesliga player at Werder Bremen and VfL Wolfsburg, stayed as he is: personally reserved and thus paying his respects to the festival for Eriksen. “Of course I'm happy,” he said, describing his emotional state, “but I was also on the part of the lawn on which Christian collapsed on Saturday. That's why I was very calm today. "