Uefa Champions League beckons for SA star Percy Tau

29 August 2019 - 11:54 By Mark Gleeson
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Percy Tau's Club Brugge could be drawn in the same group as Lionel Messi's Barcelona in the Uefa Champions League. Tau and previously played against Messi before.
Percy Tau's Club Brugge could be drawn in the same group as Lionel Messi's Barcelona in the Uefa Champions League. Tau and previously played against Messi before.
Image: Frennie Shivambu/Gallo Images

Percy Tau came on at half-time and set up the winner for Club Brugge as the Belgian club booked a place in the money-spinning Uefa Champions League group phase on Wednesday to offer the young South African marksman the mouth-watering opportunity of playing on one of football’s greatest stages.

Tau‚ who had been suspended for the first leg‚ was named among the substitutes for the return match at home against LASK Linz of Austria but brought on at half-time.

The 25-year-old Bafana Bafana striker had the two best chances of the game‚ hitting the woodwork with his second before providing Emmanuel Dennis with the winner late in the game as Brugge won 2-1 and went through 3-1 on aggregate.

It is the first time in four years they are through to the group phase and they will not have long to wait to find out who they play.

The draw for the groups will be made in Monte Carlo on Thursday at 6pm South African time.

Brugge are in pot three and will be hoping for a chance to go up against the likes of Barcelona‚ Juventus‚ Liverpool‚ Manchester City or Real Madrid.

Percy Tau came off the bench and provided an assist for the winning goal.
Percy Tau came off the bench and provided an assist for the winning goal.
Image: Club Brugge/Twitter

For Tau it would be an ideal opportunity to prove his ability as he hopes for a work permit next year to play in the Premier League in England.

The pots for Thursday’s draw:

Pot 1:

Liverpool (champions)‚ Chelsea‚ Barcelona‚ Manchester City‚ Juventus‚ Bayern Munich‚ Paris Saint-Germain‚ Zenit St. Petersburg

Pot 2:

Real Madrid‚ Atletico Madrid‚ Borussia Dortmund‚ Napoli‚ Shakhtar Donetsk‚ Tottenham Hotspur‚ Ajax Amsterdam‚ Benfica

Pot 3:

Olympique Lyon‚ Bayer Leverkusen‚ RB Salzburg‚ Olympiakos‚ Club Bruges‚ Valencia‚ Inter Milan‚ Dinamo Zagreb

Pot 4:

Lokomotiv Moscow‚ Racing Genk‚ Galatasaray‚ RB Leipzig‚ Slavia Prague‚ Red Star Belgrade‚ Atalanta‚ Lille.

South African star forward Percy Tau (R) celebrate with his Club Brugge teammate during a match.
South African star forward Percy Tau (R) celebrate with his Club Brugge teammate during a match.
Image: Club Brugge/Twitter
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