On Sunday afternoon, Anderlecht traveled to ’t Kuipje in Westerlo for the penultimate matchday of the regular season in the Jupiler Pro League. Unfortunately, they suffered a clear 2-0 defeat.
The home side started strongly and found the net after just two minutes. Following a corner, Luka Vuskovic won the aerial duel, allowing Matija Frigan—completely unmarked at the far post—to head the ball in and open the scoring. The Mauves tried to respond, but efforts from Thorgan Hazard and Mario Stroeykens flew over the goal, while a header from Luis Vázquez lacked the power to trouble Andreas Jungdal. Instead, it was the hosts who doubled their lead when a long-range lob from Dogucan Haspolat—assisted by the sun—caught Colin Coosemans off guard. The home team continued to pose the greater threat, with Matija Frigan missing the target twice and Josimar Alcocer seeing his shot saved by Colin Coosemans in first-half stoppage time. A 2-0 deficit at the break.
Clear chances were rare in the second half. Around the hour mark, Colin Coosemans was forced to make a save from a Griffin Yow attempt. Shortly after, Majeed Ashimeru and Nilson Angulo came on to replace Mario Stroeykens and Samuel Edozie. Sporting also switched to a two-striker system when César Huerta made way for Keisuke Goto with 15 minutes left on the clock. In the final moments, a header from the Japanese forward failed to trouble Westerlo’s goalkeeper. In the end, Anderlecht never managed to find a way back into the game and returned from ’t Kuipje empty-handed. Next Sunday, they will need to put in a much stronger performance if they want to secure a home victory against Cercle Brugge.
