Belgian Pro League Review: Matchweek 2 | OneFootball

Although the opening weekend looked to be a hard act to follow, the Belgian Pro League’s second matchweek did a fine job in creating further drama and excitement.

Across the eight fixtures this week, we saw 21 goals, some surprising results, and one five-goal romping. Read on as we look back on all the big moments from another great weekend of Belgian football.

Friday Fixture: Dedicated Mechelen shock Club Brugge with 2-1 win “Behind the Army Barracks”

Just like last week, Friday’s opener was another fine advertisement for the division, as KV Mechelen stunned Club Brugge with a lightning-fast team move inside the first seven minutes.

Lion Lauberbach dropped in well before pushing play out to the right. Just crossing halfway, Patrick Pflucke held his run before being slotted down the flank by his fellow German. The wing-back then crossed beautifully for the run of a lunging Kerim Mrabti to find the bottom-left corner nicely.

After the break, Club Brugge were punished for struggling to make the most of their offensive pressure (10 shots, three on target), as Mechelen won a penalty in the 50th minute. Romeo Vermant handled the ball in area, and Robin Schoofs emphatically obliged when the spot-kick was awarded, finding the top-left corner from 12 yards.

The Blauw-Zwart registered a response just before the 70th minute. Christos Tzolis was found by Carlos Forbs on the right before firing into the bottom left. This would be the last scoring act as Mechelen staunchly shut up shop in the final 20 minutes with a militant defensive display at the ground Achter de Kazerne (Behind the Army Barracks). In the second period as a whole, the Bruges side could only watch as 10 shots again only reaped three on target, and Mechelen survived against the visitors’ 1.14 xG.

Saturday: Westerlo bounce back from Anderlecht thrashing, Dender draw again, and Gent beat RAAL inside the last five minutes

Saturday’s action kicked off with a Westerlo redemption arc. Beating Zulte Waregem 3-1, the hosts showed far more fight and determination than the week prior’s defeat to Anderlecht (5-2), to really align themselves with their De Kemphanen (Fighting Roosters) nickname.

The Roosters were pecking at the bit straight away and flew out of the gate to make it 1-0 inside the first minute. Following a lovely touch, Griffin Yow helped the ball into the box. He then scurried onto the scraps as the defenders failed to clear, before powering low past Brent Gabriel.

Just 10 minutes later, the Anderlecht drubbing went further into the back of the collective conscience, as Josimar Alcocer made it 2-0 with a smart low finish across goal from the left. The half-hour mark saw Jeppe Erenbjerg grab one back for the visitors with a fizzing effort from outside of the box, yet this didn’t do much to disrupt the flow of the game as Isa Sakamoto’s strike into the bottom-left corner truly sealed the points in the 82nd minute.

Standard Liege and Dender couldn’t be separated in the day’s second game. In this 1-1 draw at the Maurice Dufrasne Stadium, it’s fair to suggest the game mainly heated up in the second half. First, Nathan Rôdes was unlucky as his thundering effort from range bounced off the underside of the bar and off the goal line in the 57th minute.

To make that attempt even more agonising, Standard took the lead eight minutes later. A quick counter moved out left to find Rafiki Saïd, before the winger crossed the ball in a precise, low fashion to find Dennis Eckert Ayensa for a close-range finish. Although they will want to add more wins to their column, Dender did well to continue their drawing streak. They kept pushing and snagged a draw in the 85th minute as Roman Kvet opened his, and Dender’s, account for the new season from the edge of the box.

Similarly to Dender, Gent grabbed an important goal in the last five minutes of their clash with La Louviere. The newly-promoted side made it hard for the hosts, as it looked increasingly likely that their 78% possession and 1.46 xG would go to begging. However, Atsuki Ito picked his way through a crowded penalty area to find the net in the dying embers.

Sunday: Sandwiched between two 1-1 draws, USG put on a show and Anderlecht prevail

Sunday’s action kicked off with Genk and Antwerp being very closely matched. The level outcome was set by two quick goals in the first half. Vincent Janssen scored the game’s first in the 24th minute as he powered into the top-right corner from inside the box. Four minutes later, Zakaria El Ouahdi cancelled out Janssen’s second of the season to restore parity with a nice finish into the bottom right after a beautiful, flowing team move.

After Gyrano Kerk was unfortunate not to receive a penalty in the remainder of the first, further second-half antics from an Antwerp player threatened to open the game up again. This time, it was through a mistake by Senne Lammens. Going against his already solid outing with earlier saves, the Manchester United target let a Dennis Praet back pass roll by him before scrambling off the line in the 69th minute.

The day’s second game saw Cercle Brugge welcome Anderlecht. Formative visiting pressure resulted in a penalty after Edgaras Utkus’ boot was high on Luis Vázquez. Thorgan Hazard continued his solid early-season form to convert coolly in the eighth minute. Following this, Cercle worked hard to get shots off, yet out of their 12, only two were on target. Anderlecht looked the favourites following their early goal, and consolidated their status through Adriano Bertaccini. The new forward acquired from St. Truiden came on in the 61st minute, and quickly grew into his new colours to score in the 79th.

Where it was Anderlecht providing a chunk of the goals last week, this week it was the turn of Union Saint-Gilloise to pepper the back of the net in Sunday’s standout performance. The title holders powered two close-range efforts past OH Leuven inside the first seven minutes courtesy of Anan Khalaili and then Ross Sykes for a commanding early advantage.

Leuven heads were still spinning by the interval, it seemed, as right after the break, the scoring continued with Raul Florucz as the visitors gave away a spot kick. The Austrian powered his first of the day into the top-left corner with aplomb, before adding his third goal in two games on 59′. Receiving the ball from Fedde Leysen, Florucz ran across the edge and fired past the assister’s brother Tobe to aptly pick out the bottom right from just outside the box.

After this, Ousseynou Niang added a goal to his assist from the first matchweek to seal a five-goal showcase. He met a fine Sofiane Boufal cross from the right in the 71st minute, to fire home from a tight angle on the left.

The final game of the week came as Charleroi and STVV drew 1-1. Ryotaro Ito helped his travelling Canaries into the lead at the Stade du Pays by converting a 24th-minute penalty after Massamba Sow fouled Rihito Yamamoto. Nikola Stulic got his side back on level terms in the 41st minute with a towering header from the edge of the box. However, his conflicted (and eventually MOTM) performance was marred by a second yellow card, providing him his marching orders just after the hour as he cynically fouled Visar Musliu.

League table after Matchweek 2

Top goalscorers after Matchweek 2

GBeNeFN | Max Bradfield