Anderlecht wins comfortably thanks to a strong second half
SUNDAY, 1 MARCH 2026, 18:20 - lajoya
GAMES Anderlecht remains a team of two faces. It recorded its biggest win of the season with a 5-1 victory, but the first half was dreadful to watch. The purple-and-whites were fortunate to go into the break level at 1-1. After the interval a different Anderlecht turned up, and within a quarter of an hour the score was 3-1 thanks to goals from Hazard and Cvetkovic.
Hazard (from the spot) and substitute Bertaccini pushed the final score to 5-1. Anderlecht obviously did themselves a big favour in the race for the Champions' Play-offs. Anderlecht inexplicably started the match weakly again, and OHL took control. That led to a quick 0-1 through a thunderous strike from Gil from long range.
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Continue reading Anderlecht hardly pressed and trudged around the pitch, compounding one technical error after another. Maziz showed mercy on the purple-and-whites when Degreef intercepted his poor pass on the half hour. Degreef shot at goal and Pletinckx unfortunately diverted the ball into his own net, so Anderlecht were level through a mix of luck and help. After the equaliser Anderlecht did grab control, and a 2-1 was later ruled out after a VAR intervention for offside.
Anderlecht switched to a completely different gear after the break and the lead came quickly after halftime when Hazard bent a free kick into the net — the OHL wall didn't help its cause either. Less than five minutes later it was 3-1: a Hazard free kick landed with Cvetkovic, who turned and tucked a composed finish into the far corner. Despite the two-goal cushion Anderlecht had to stay alert and they escaped a scare when Coosemans misjudged a dangerous free kick by Maziz that nobody got a touch on. In the 70th minute the tie seemed sealed when Dussenne stepped on Llansana's foot and conceded a penalty.
Hazard converted to score his 11th of the season, which momentarily made him top scorer in the Jupiler Pro League. Although Anderlecht picked up four yellow cards after the break, they played out the final stages calmly after going 4-1 up. In stoppage time substitute Bertaccini made it 5-1 with a shot from a tight angle.
Anderlecht did themselves a huge favour in the fight for the Champions' Play-offs, with Hazard and De Cat once again standing out. De Cat played higher up the midfield tonight and did well there too. Hazard again proved his value to this Anderlecht side with his goals — he has scored nearly a quarter of the purple-and-whites' league goals. Verschaeren was honoured for his 250th appearance for Anderlecht.
