Antwerp vs Anderlecht

01/05/2025 -13:30

Jupiler Pro League

Bosuilstadion

R Antwerp FC

RSC Anderlecht

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On Matchday 6 of the Champions’ Play-offs, Sporting heads to the Bosuil. After two wins over KAA Gent last week, the Mauves aim to keep the momentum going against Antwerp—especially with the Belgian Cup final looming this Sunday. “But I’ve seen a hungry group in training that’s not thinking about the final yet,” said our coach during his Wednesday press conference. Watch his full press conference on Mauve TV.

RSCA gained confidence from their double clash with KAA Gent. The home game was especially convincing, with Kasper Dolberg stealing the show by scoring four times in a 5-0 win. “In Gent, we just did our job by winning,” Hasi reflected. “Now we want to win at Antwerp too, to maintain our positive flow. We might make some changes, but only for good reasons.” The coach acknowledges the Cup final is a golden opportunity for silverware—something the club is hungry for. “In recent days, I’ve seen a determined group that isn’t distracted by Sunday’s final, and that’s very encouraging.”

Besnik Hasi will travel to Antwerp with a slightly adjusted squad. Jan-Carlo Simić is suspended after his yellow card in Gent. Jan Vertonghen trained with the group and could be included if he has no physical reaction. “There are a few players with discomfort,” the coach added. Thorgan Hazard is one of them—he didn’t train with the team and won’t be part of the squad tomorrow. Adryelson and Mario Stroeykens remain unavailable, as does Killian Sardella, who underwent a medical procedure. “We only have two days between matches—it’s tight.” But Hasi prefers to see the injury situation in a positive light: “It creates opportunities for other players. They can step up ahead of the final. If someone plays a strong game tomorrow, they’ll gain confidence for Sunday and might even start.”

The midweek match against Antwerp isn’t ideal preparation for the final. “But the same goes for Club Brugge,” Hasi pointed out, “and we have to deal with that.” Kick-off at the Bosuil is Thursday at 13:30.

Game Feed

Previous Meetings

Ahead of the cup final, Besnik Hasi announced he wanted to give other players a chance at Antwerp FC. The coach made no less than nine changes compared to the game in Ghent. After an enjoyable first half with few chances, the match was decided by two young players from Sporting. RSCA takes the full 9 out of 9 and heads into Sunday’s match with a good feeling.

On a scorching hot day at the Bosuil, the visitors, featuring many new faces in the starting eleven, began the match with great intensity. A sharp cross from Thomas Foket was deflected into a corner just in front of Nilson Angulo. Antwerp threatened for the first time through William Balikwisha: after good pressing from Olivier Deman, he had a shot, but Colin Coosemans remained untroubled. Shortly after, Angulo produced a beautiful piece of skill, controlling the ball perfectly, cutting inside, and curling a shot toward goal—saved by Lammens. In the following phase, the ball fell to Mats Rits at the edge of the box, but his effort posed no danger. Antwerp created two more chances, including one from Mohamed Bayo who shot from a tight angle straight at Coosemans. The biggest chance for the Great Old came just before halftime, when a corner fell to Balikwisha, whose shot was blocked by Ludwig Augustinsson. The score remained 0-0 at halftime.

Besnik Hasi made two substitutions at halftime: Ali Maamar and Lucas Hey came on for Thomas Foket and Marco Kana. That move paid off: substitute Maamar delivered a perfect cross to Goto, who headed it beautifully into the top corner. Around the hour mark, the Mauves made another double substitution—goal scorer Goto and Theo Leoni made way for Samuel Edozie and Nathan De Cat. Shortly after, Denis Odoi stamped hard on Edozie’s ankle and received a second yellow card. The home side had to continue with ten men for the final half hour. Around the 70th minute, 16-year-old De Cat put the match to bed with his first goal for the first team. He controlled the ball perfectly in the box and slotted it low into the left corner. With a quarter of an hour remaining, Jan Vertonghen was also brought on. In the closing stages, Samuel Edozie made it 0-3, and Balikwisha scored a consolation goal for Antwerp with a stunning volley. Anderlecht thus won for the fourth time in a row and heads into Sunday’s cup final full of confidence.