Later champion mostly won first playoff match

GAMES Anderlecht started the Champions' Playoffs with a win, Union with a defeat. Based on previous editions of the playoffs, this is favorable news for Anderlecht. In thirteen editions, the later champion won its first match of the playoffs no less than nine times. That searched out La Dernière Heure.


The four times the later champion did not win, he played two draws on the opening day and lost twice. Remarkable: those two defeats are in Anderlecht's name, as is one draw.

Since 2015, when Gent became champions, no subsequent champion has lost its first game of the playoffs. In 2021, Club Brugge played a draw against Anderlecht. The other times, the later champion grabbed the full prize on the opening game day each time.

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