GAMES Anderlecht showed character on Saturday away at Cercle Brugge. For a long time, purple and white looked set to drop points, but in the 93rd minute Adriano Bertaccini still delivered victory for his side: 1-2. Afterwards, coach Vítor Bruno was especially pleased with the mentality and fighting spirit of his players. “This is the spirit of our team,” Bruno said afterwards on DAZN. Read more »
GAMES Anderlecht won 1-2 at Cercle Brugge. It was fair to call it a minor miracle, given that the mauves and whites produced a truly disastrous performance. Yet in the closing stages, Bentayeb and Bertaccini still turned a 1-0 deficit into a 1-2 victory. Anderlecht played a terribly poor first half at Cercle. Read more »
TRANSFERS He had been without a club for some time, but Cheikhou Kouyaté has officially announced his retirement from football today. The now 36-year-old Senegalese enjoyed five superb years at Anderlecht between 2009 and 2014. He won no fewer than four league titles. Anderlecht picked up Kouyaté on a free transfer in 2008 from neighbours RWDM. Read more »
GAMES Anderlecht face a stiff challenge. After the international break, the Purple and Whites resume their league campaign on Saturday with an away game at Cercle Brugge. That will be followed by four more trips on the road, meaning Vítor Bruno's side is immediately heading into a demanding spell. The Portuguese coach expects a difficult evening against Cercle. Read more »
INTERVIEWS Is there light at the end of the tunnel for Mario Stroeykens? At his press conference this afternoon, coach Vitor Bruno suggested that the attacking midfielder may finally have turned a corner. “I can see that he has embarked on a mission to make a name for himself,” Bruno said. According to Bruno, Stroeykens is currently putting in a huge amount of work in training. Read more »
INJURIES Now that all the players have returned to their clubs — Reabciuk and Ambros came back today — Anderlecht can begin preparing for a difficult month in October. For the away match at Cercle, there are at least two defensive question marks. That Biancone would be out for longer was already known. His replacement Omobamidele is now also highly doubtful. Read more »
YOUTH While the players who stayed behind in Neerpede enjoyed a week off, RSC Anderlecht's internationals were spread across Europe and Africa in action. In total, ten first-team players amassed no fewer than 1,511 minutes during this long international break. The forwards, in particular, stood out. Danylo Sikan found the net for Ukraine, while Mihajlo Cvetkovic also scored in Serbia's colours. Read more »
OTHER Anderlecht is immediately facing an unprecedented challenge after the international break. The Purple & White will play five straight matches away from home or in a hostile stadium. Cercle Brugge, Dinamo Zagreb, Beerschot, Jagiellonia Bialystok and AA Gent: that is Anderlecht's schedule between 10 and 25 October. In the club's 118-year history, such a run has never happened before. Read more »
OTHER Seven goals in seven league matches. That is far too little for Anderlecht. Especially when you consider that the Purple & White have already found the net 15 times in Europe. The contrast could hardly be greater. Read more »
GAMES RSC Anderlecht now knows who will oversee Saturday's match against Cercle Brugge. Kevin Van Damme has been appointed referee for the eighth round fixture in the Jupiler Pro League. Van Damme will be assisted on the touchline by Lennert Jans and Tom Vanpoucke. Anthony Letellier is the fourth official. Read more »
TRANSFERS Although he missed most of last season due to a serious ACL injury, Enzo Sternal remained highly sought after. According to Footmercato, several French clubs reportedly made concrete attempts to bring the midfielder back to his home country. Read more »
FLASHBACK October 5, 1924: Charles Demunter, Jean Caudron, and Ferdinand Adams were all selected for the national team for a match against Denmark (which was lost 2-1). It was the first time that three Anderlecht players were included in the national squad.
From that moment on, the number of purple-and-white players steadily increased in the Belgian eleven. In 1964, there were even eleven purple-and-white players on the field; a complete lineup. Read more »
In Poland, Anderlecht is being mentioned as one of the clubs interested in Zhasulan Amir, a 19-year-old winger from Ordobasy in Kazakhstan. Gornik Zabrze, which is considering a bid, and Basel are also showing interest.
Read more »INTERVIEWS He seemed destined to leave Anderlecht through the front door, but in the end Yari Verschaeren slipped out the back. In Het Nieuwsblad, the now 25-year-old Verschaeren looks back this weekend on his departure from Anderlecht. “At the beginning, I was a hype. After that, things didn't go as hoped, partly because of injuries.” Verschaeren admits that all of us expected more from him when he made his debut in 2018. Read more »
GAMES A experimental Anderlecht side this afternoon beat Reims 3-0, the club of former player Leoni. The goals were scored by Bertaccini, Flips and Pape N'dao. Reims are currently third in France's second division, three points behind leaders St-Etienne. Anderlecht fielded a mix of first-team players and Futures players. Read more »
INJURIES Several online media outlets are reporting that Giulian Biancone will be sidelined for longer than initially expected. The Frenchman is already certain to miss the matches against Cercle Brugge and Dinamo Zagreb. Biancone picked up an injury against KV Mechelen, but he is still not training with the group. Anderlecht resume play in just over a week with an away game to Cercle. Read more »
OTHER A notable presence yesterday afternoon at Anderlecht's fan day. None other than Nathan De Cat dropped by the Lotto Park to pay a visit to his former club. He had a chat with plenty of familiar faces. During the open training session, the internationals were of course absent. Read more »
OTHER RSC Anderlecht now know when they will be in action in the round of 32 of the Croky Cup. The purple and white travel to the Kiel on Sunday 18 October at 6 p.m. for a clash with Beerschot. The draw paired both clubs earlier this week. Read more »
