Belgian Pro League Matchweek 8 Review

A good weekend for away teams this week in the Belgian Pro League with very few shocks across the board. The two Belgian sides in Champions League action showed no signs of slowing down as both won, while the bottom sides continued to struggle.

Friday night action: Dender remain winless after defeat to the Buffaloes

Gent ran out 3-0 winners over rock bottom Dender on Friday evening. Two goals from Wilfriend Kanga and another from Abdelkahar Kadri were enough to give Ivan Leko’s side all the points and potentially kick start their season. Kadri is already proving to be a great signing for Gent, with one goal and two assists from four matches so far.

Saturday’s action: Away wins for the newly promoted sides

RAAL La Louviere followed up their shock win over Club Brugge with a 2-1 win away from home against OH Leuven. Despite Sory Kaba scoring early on his return to OH Leuven, the newly promoted side grabbed two before half-time thanks to teenage sensation Jerry Afriyie. The Ghanaian is certainly one to watch this season, while OH Leuven head coach David Hubert may be looking out for his job in the near future.

Another newly promoted side in Zulte Waregem also ran out 2-1 winners, although they had to wait a lot later than RAAL to grab a winner. Patrick Plucke had scored his second goal since moving from KV Mechelen to give the Zebras a 1-0 lead, but a red card for Syrian defender Aiham Ousou would prove costly for Charleroi. Joseph Opouk grabbed his first goal of the season to bring Zulte Waregem level, before the veteran striker Jelle Vossen struck in injury time to give the away side back to back wins.

Saturday evening saw Anderlecht and Antwerp draw 0-0 in Brussels. The home side had the better of the chances and much more of the ball, but it was clear that both sides were evenly matched. The departure of Kasper Dolberg and the warm up injury to Thorgan Hazard were certainly felt by the Mauves as they registered 18 shots in total but only two on target. Antwerp only managed one on target.

Sunday’s action: Union St Gilloise leave it late while Standard Liege grab important win

Union St Gilloise left it late to ensure Genk went pointless and endured their worst start to a season for over 20 years. Promise David gave a tired looking Union the lead, only for Junya Ito to score his first goal since returning from Genk before the hour mark. Late on, former KV Mechelen captain Rob Schoofs came off the bench to grab his first goal for the club and keep Union clear at the top of the table.

Standard Liege picked up their first win since the 10th of August with a 2-0 win away to Westerlo. Adnane Abid was the star with a goal and an assist for Casper Nielsen in a game Vincent Euvrard hopes will be a catalyst for their season. Westerlo had plenty of chances and possession but could not get anything passed Matthieu Epolo in the Standard goal.

Club Brugge followed up their 4-1 demolition of Monaco with a 2-0 win at home against Sint Truiden. Central defender Brandon Mechele converted Christos Tzolis cross to make it 1-0 just before half-time before Nicolo Tresoldi made it two from another Tzolis assist just after the interval. Sint Truiden were able to create some openings but failed to convert. They remain second but have now gone winless in three after a strong start to the season.

Like Saturday evening, Sunday evening also ended with a 0-0 draw between KV Mechelen and Cercle Brugge. Both Nacho Miras and Maxime Delanghe kept clean sheets, however the former was busier than the latter. Miras has now earned the starting spot at KV Mechelen and it is clear to see why. At the other end, his side struggled to create any clear cut chances and a draw will likely frustrate Cercle Brugge who had the better of the chances.

League table