Belgium 4-2 Denmark: Belgium player ratings as Romelu Lukaku brace puts Red Devils into last four | UEFA Nations League 2020-21
Belgium progressed into the last four of the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League after seeing out Denmark 4-2 in a hard-fought game at the King Power Stadion.
Romelu Lukaku scored a brace either side of goals from Youri Tielemans and Kevin De Bruyne as the Red Devils secured top spot in Group B.
The Danes cancelled out Tielemans' opener courtesy Jonas Older Wind's effort before Lukaku's second-half brace put Belgium in the ascendancy. A horrendous mistake from Thibaut Courtois helped the visitors reduce arrears before Kevin de Bruyne restored Belgium's two-goal lead three minutes from time.
On that note, here are the player ratings for Belgium's players:
Thibaut Courtois - 6/10
While there was nothing he could do about Denmark's first goal, Courtois made an absolute mess of their second when he failed to control an innocuous-looking backpass from Chadli. The Real Madrid custodian would want to forget the embarrassing individual gaffe as soon as possible.
Toby Alderweireld - 7/10
Toby Alderweireld's calm and composed disposition was a nice counterpoint in a Belgium defence that looked shaky at times. He completed 90% of his passes and made two successful tackles, highlighting his importance to the squad.
Jason Denayer - 7/10
Jason Denayer was beaten in the air by Wind for Denmark's first goal, but the Belgian player recovered well after that. In fact, the Lyon centre-back registered the best pass completion rate (98%) of all starters in the match and also made the most clearances (4).
Jan Vertonghen - 7/10
The ball bounced off Jan Vertonghen in the lead-up to Wind's equaliser, but he could have done little about it. Otherwise, the former Tottenham man was solid defensively, making four interceptions, three clearances and two defensive aerial duels.
Thorgan Hazard - 7.5/10
Starting on the right side of a four-man midfield, Thorgan Hazard was superb from an attacking perspective. He linked up well with De Bruyne and Lukaku and even assisting the latter with a lovely cross-field pass.
Youri Tielemans - 7/10
Leicester City star Youri Tielemas scored a goal, albeit without any deflections. Even though he didn't test his Foxes teammate Kasper Schmeichel much after that, his accurate passes kept Belgium moving.
Leander Dendoncker - 6.5/10
After starting the match brightly by setting up Tielemans with a superb pass, Leander Dendoncker's influence dramatically declined in the match. He lost possession in the build-up to Wind's equaliser and gave away too many fouls.
Nacer Chadli - 6.5/10
Nacer Chadli had a quiet match and offered little in the way of attacks. However, his back pass to Courtois that led to Denmark's second goal was more the latter's fault than Chadli's.
Dries Mertens - 6.5/10
Dries Mertens was the quietest of all three Belgium attackers, failing to get a single shot away in the match. Having scored a wonderful free-kick against England in the last match, he was the chief set-piece taker on the night, delivering four corners and a free-kick, but he had no luck this time.
Kevin De Bruyne - 8/10
It was another talismanic performance from the magician, who ran the show in the Belgium attack with his distribution and creativity. He assisted Lukaku with a nice through-ball and capped off the evening with a sumptuous first-time finish beyond Schmeichel.
Romelu Lukaku - 8/10
Just over a month on from his brace against Iceland, the Inter Milan target-man was back on the scoresheet again, netting twice more to take his tally up to 57 goals for the Red Devils.
Ratings of Belgium Substitutes
Thomas Foket - 7/10
The 26-year old came on for Thorgan Hazard in the 78th minute and picked up an assist with a lovely crossfield pass for De Bruyne.
Dedryck Boyata - N/A
Defender Dedryck Boyata was subbed deep into stoppage-time to help Belgium see out the last few seconds of the match.