GAMES Anderlecht has once again won a top match 1-0. This time it happened with less ingenuity than against Club Brugge, but the purple and white are doing very well in the standings. In an intense match with few chances, Angulo quickly scored the decisive 1-0 after a clever move. Anderlecht played well before halftime, but their football was much less impressive after the break. Union also lacked the quality to avoid defeat.
Anderlecht went into the break 1-0 up, which was deserved based on the play, as there were hardly any chances on either side.
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Continue reading Union kept Anderlecht away from goal in the early stages, but when Angulo slalomed between two players in the eleventh minute, the ball was immediately in the net. His shot deflected and Anderlecht took an early lead.
We saw a lot of intensity after that. Union threatened once through David and once through Raul. Although the purple and white couldn't create any real chances apart from the goal, they played well at times with Bertaccini dropping back low and then sending deep crosses into the box.
Anderlecht started the second half better, but failed to create any chances apart from a weak header from Cvetkovic. Ten minutes after the break, Kana had to be replaced by Hey due to injury. However, Anderlecht found it increasingly difficult to keep possession. They kicked the ball away too often and De Cat also dropped back, partly under pressure from the yellow card he had received.
Meanwhile, the uneventful match continued. Hazard received his fifth yellow card of the season with fifteen minutes to go, meaning he will be suspended against Westerlo. In the 77th minute, Patris had Union's best chance after the break, but the former Anderlecht player put the ball into the side netting.
Ten minutes before the end, Bertaccini was half a foot too short to convert a good chance on the counterattack. Anderlecht then played out several more counterattacks poorly. In the six minutes of added time, Union went all out by sending the tall Sykes up front as an extra player, but apart from a messy phase in front of goal, the champions were no longer really dangerous. Anderlecht thus secured another victory by the smallest of margins. Thanks to Club Brugge dropping points, the Purple & White gained three points on Union and Club. Another important match awaits on Thursday, and it will certainly not be any easier: the cup match in Genk.
Score: 1-0 Goal(s): 1-0 Angulo 11'
Anderlecht: Coosemans, Camara (N'Diaye 64'), Sardella, Kana (Hey 55'), Augustinsson, Llansana (Verschaeren 64'), De Cat, Bertaccini, Hazard, Angulo (Maamar 82'), Cvetkovic (Stroeykens 64') Union: Scherpen, MacAllister, Burgess, Sykes, Niang (Patris 62'), Khalaili, Van De Perre (Rasmussen 62'), Zorgane, Ait El Hadj (Schoofs 88'), Raul (Giger 78'), Promise David (Rodriguez 61')
Yellow cards: Van De Perre 9', Ait El Hadj 25', De Cat 29', Khalaili 69', Hazard 74', Hubert 90'+6 Red cards:
