Scotland 0 Belgium 4: Eden Hazard scores brilliant goal with Romelu Lukaku and Michy Batshuayi also on fire
Chelsea superstar's run and powerful finish was the pick of a strikes for the rampant Red Devils
THEY came to Hampden virtually straight from the airport.
Thank God it was just a flying visit.
Belgium only flew to Scotland on the same day as the game.
But the Tartan Army were left thinking they couldn’t leave the country quickly enough.
Romelu Lukaku, Hazard and two goals from Michy Batshuayi made this a hard watch for the Tartan Army.
The Red Devils? Roberto Martinez has a side that play football straight from heaven.
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You wondered the merits of taking this game in the first place.
Whether the positives of bringing the third best team in the world to Glasgow would ultimately end up being considerably outweighed by the negatives.
Despite the household names throughout this Belgium line-up the Tartan Army did not exactly turn up at Hampden in their droves.
The problems they faced also do not appear like the ideal preparation for a competitive fixture against Albania.
This was a test of endurance as much as anything. For players and punters alike.
Martinez has such a well-drilled group of world class players. Win, lose or draw, Scotland were going to have a shift just keeping up with them.
The question was whether McLeish’s team could impose themselves on the game.
Whether they could take what they’d been working on for hours out on the training pitch and replicate it where it mattered.
But the opposition was just too strong and streetwise.
Scotland had bursts of play which were definitely encouraging, Callum McGregor catching the eye like he has been for Celtic all season.
John McGinn never gave up either before he was taken off in the closing stages.
But crucially McLeish’s side made things so much easier for Belgium that even manager Martinez could have hoped it would be.
The goal Belgium scored to take the lead after 28 minutes was a gift at this level. In fact, any level.
Craig Gordon would have been eager to impress with Allan McGregor told he was starting in the competitive game on Monday night.
But for the opening goal he was initially culpable.
After taking a through ball into his arms Gordon quickly threw it out to McGinn, who was only 20 yards from the Scotland goal.
The Aston Villa man seemed to want it, in all fairness to the Celtic No1.
And McGinn had a glance over his shoulder to see Mousa Dembele was closing in on him fast.
The former St Mirren and Hibs star didn’t take a particularly good touch either as he was challenged and robbed of possession.
As quick as a flash Hazard was on the ball, squaring it to Lukaku who had all the time in the world to pick his spot.
It was just such a calamity from a Scotland point of view.
And for all that McGinn was the ball caught on the ball, Gordon shouldn’t have put him in that kind of trouble in the first place.
Those are the sorts of mistakes you can’t make against a team like Belgium because they’ll punish you almost every time.
It was backs to the wall for the rest of the first-half.
McGinn had a half-chance on the edge of the Belgium box, shooting straight at Thibaut Courtois after good link-up play.
But the visitors looked like scoring almost every time they burst forward.
They almost made it 2-0 from a corner, Vincent Kompany clipping the crossbar with a header from a corner.
Seconds before the break Gordon made a brilliant double save to keep out a header from Hazard and follow-up shot from Lukaku at point-blank range.
It wasn’t long into the second half that Belgium showed their brilliance – 50 seconds to be precise.
McLeish had thrown on Steven Naismith at the break but his first job was to take centre after Hazard made it 2-0 with the most sensational of finishes.
Gordon could do absolutely nothing about it, this time.
When Hazard unleashed his shot from inside the box it was past the Scotland keeper before he knew anything about it.
It was now a damage limitation exercise for Scotland.
But Belgium were in the mood to score more and after 52 minutes they grabbed their third after slack play from the back from Charlie Mulgrew.
His loose ball out was pounced upon by Dembele who fed a pass to Hazard. His ball for Batshuayi was on a plate for him to score.
Martinez seemed to take pity on Scotland soon after, taking tormentor in chief Hazard with the Chelsea star applauded off the pitch by the Scotland fans who couldn’t fail to appreciate his talent.
But there was still more misery to come.
On the hour mark substitute Ryan Jack was dispossessed by Youri Tielemans with Batshuayi played in again, the striker producing some finish in off the post.
Naismith had a chance to pull a goal back for Scotland after 64 minutes but Courtois saved instinctively.
But in the end the final whistle just couldn’t come quickly enough.