Fate in hands of Genk and Zulte after heavy defeat

GAMES Anderlecht suffered a heavy 5-2 defeat at leaders Racing Genk. The 2-1 lead at halftime was flattered, as the purple and white played well. But shortly after halftime, Genk easily defeated over Anderlecht with its fast and dynamic attackers, quickly leading 4-1. Dreyer mitigated, but Paintsil also scored for Genk. Charleroi and Cercle Brugge cannot win on the final day of play against Genk and Zulte Waregem, who also have to go for the points. Anderlecht must then win against Mechelen themselves, of course.


Energetic start with a yellow card for both teams within ten minutes: Vertonghen and McKenzie went into the book. Anderlecht could threaten concretely first, first through Sardella and Ashimeru, but Vandevoordt was lucky when he saved Slimani's header with his head. Then it was up to Genk to create some concrete danger. Trésor first choked on his control, but Preciado and Paintsil came closer to making it 1-0.

After minute 25, things calmed down for a while in front of both goalkeepers until Samatta opened the scoring with a place ball. But at the origin of that phase was a faulty ball control by Refaelov, caused by the position of referee Lambrechts. Moments later, Paintsil also aimed just wide. Anderlecht reacted through Debast and then Slimani deservedly brought Purple White to level. But Genk regained the lead in the closing stages. Purple-White's defense was out of position when Verbruggen saved a Paintsil shot. Ouattara retained control of the rebound and decided in goal. A very entertaining first half with many chances in which Anderlecht played well, but swallowed goals too easily.

Shortly after halftime, Anderlecht allowed themselves to be completely KO by Genk in a matter of minutes. Paintsil first made it 3-1 by outsmarting the defence and a few minutes later, El Khannouss slid the 4-1 into the ropes without resistance. Anderlecht tried through Slimani who decided wide. Diawara, who misses the final game against Mechelen after yellow, sent Dreyer cleverly deep. The Dane eased to 4-2 in minute 64. A good quarter of an hour before time, former player Ait El Hadj entered the field. Ten minutes before time, Verbruggen had to defuse a shot by Samatta. The speed of the Genk attackers kept hurting the Anderlecht defence. Paintsil was able to score the 5-2 in minute 86.

Anderlecht picked up nothing again against a top club from their own league. Although the team made progress thanks to newcomers Slimani and Dreyer, it is clear that it is still insufficiently armed to compete with the best teams in the league. Especially defensively, Anderlecht proved to be a serious size too small today.

With this heavy defeat, Anderlecht puts its fate in the hands of Genk and Zulte-Waregem. Zij moeten op de laatste speeldag voorkomen dat Charleroi en Cercle Brugge winnen. Anderlecht heeft geluk dat zowel Genk als Zulte-Waregem voluit voor de winst moeten gaan. Op voorwaarde dat Paars-wit zelf uiteraard ook wint van Mechelen.

Score: 5-2
Goal(s): 1-0 Samatta 36', 1-1 Slimani 43', 2-1 Ouattara 45+2', 3-1 Paintsil 49', 4-1 El Khannouss 52', 4-2 Dreyer 64', 5-2 Paintsil 86'

Racing Genk:Vandevoordt, McKenzie, Sadick, Ouattara, Arteaga, Preciado (Carstensen 85'), El Khannouss (Ait El Hadj), Hrosovsky, Paintsil (Oyen 89'), Tresor (Castro 89'), Samatta
Anderlecht:Verbruggen, Sardella, Debast, Vertonghen, N'Diaye Delcroix 75'), Diawara (Kana 65'), Ashimeru (Arnstad 57'), Refaelov (Stroeykens 57'), Amuzu, Dreyer, Slimani (Raman 65')

Geel: Vertonghen 5', McKenzie 9', Refaelov 20', Preciado 30', Diawara 51'
Rood:

Scheidsrechter: Erik Lambrechts
Stadion: Luminus Arena