2021–22 Belgian First Division A

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Belgian First Division A
Season 2021–22
Champions Club Brugge
Relegated K Beerschot VA
Champions League Club Brugge, Union SG
Europa League Gent
Europa Conference League Anderlecht, Antwerp
Matches played 249
Goals scored 733 (2.94 per match)
Top goalscorer Deniz Undav
(25 goals)
Biggest home win Gent 6–1 Club Brugge
(29 August 2021)
Anderlecht 7–2 Mechelen
(12 September 2021)
Kortrijk 5–0 Zulte Waregem
(19 February 2022)
Biggest away win K Beerschot VA 0–7 RSC Anderlecht
(27 December 2021)
Highest scoring RSC Anderlecht 7–2 KV Mechelen
(12 September 2021)
Longest winning run 8 matches
Club Brugge
Longest unbeaten run 13 matches
Club Brugge
Longest winless run 12 matches
Beerschot
Longest losing run 7 matches
Beerschot
All statistics correct as of 5 December 2021.

The 2021–22 Belgian First Division A (officially known as Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons) was the 119th season of top-tier football in Belgium.

Team changes

On the final matchday of the previous season, Royal Excel Mouscron was overtaken by Waasland-Beveren, pushing them into a direct relegation spot and thus causing the Mouscron team to return to the second level after six seasons. Waasland-Beveren would eventually face the same fate as a few weeks later they lost the Relegation play-off against Seraing, ending a span of nearly a decade at the top level.

The team from Seraing is a newcomer at the highest level, although a former team with the same name, R.F.C. Seraing (1904), last played at the top level 25 seasons ago and many supporters see the current Seraing as a continuation of the former. The place of Excel Mouscron was taken by 2020–21 Belgian First Division B champions and former Belgian giants Union SG, who return to the top level after 48 years and already gained 11 Belgian Championship titles, mostly in the 1900s and 1930s.

Format change

Originally, as decided in 2020, the clubs agreed to reduce the number of teams again to 16 following the 2021–22 season, as due to the COVID-19 pandemic exceptionally no teams were relegated from the 2019–20 Belgian First Division A, which causing the league to temporarily expand to 18. This would mean that there would be three teams relegating from the 2021–22 Belgian First Division A with only one team promoted from the 2021–22 Belgian First Division B. However, on 14 June 2021, the clubs agreed to keep playing with 18 teams at the highest level up to (and including) the 2022–23 season, meaning that the 2021–22 Belgian First Division would continue the format of the previous season, with only one team relegating and the penultimate team playing a play-off match against the runner-up up the 2021–22 Belgian First Division B to avoid relegation. The title and Europa League playoffs remain shortened, with only the top four teams playing for the title and number 5 through 8 playing the Europa League playoffs. For the teams finishing in positions 9 through 16, the season ends immediately following the regular season. The request to keep playing with 18 teams at the highest level mainly came from the smaller teams which were already struggling following the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bigger clubs agreed to continue the current format but demanded that U23 teams be permanently added to the lower leagues. As such, the intention is that from the 2022–23 season on, there will be 4 U23 teams playing added to each of the second, third and fourth level of Belgian football, with the final standings of the 2021–22 U23 league to determine which team will start at which level.[1]

Title run-in

Returning to top-flight football after 48 years away, Union St-Gilloise earned a 3-1 opening-day win away to Brussels' traditional giants Anderlecht,[2] Union hosted reigning champions Club Brugge on 1 August 2021 in their first home game in the top division since 1973, being edged out 1-0 through a late Eduard Sobol winner.

In a difficult January run against all of the previous season's top four, Union beat Anderlecht, Genk and Royal Antwerp, drawing 0-0 away to Club Brugge. By the end of the regular season, Union were top on 77 points, five ahead of Club Brugge, with Antwerp and Anderlecht also qualifying for the six rounds of play-offs, where the quartet would bring forward half of the regular season points into the play-offs. Hence, Union would resume on 39, Club 36, with Anderlecht and Antwerp both on 32.[3]

Union started the play-offs strongly, beating Anderlecht 3-1 and thus becoming the first club ever to inflict three defeats on the Mauves in the same league season. A 0-0 draw away to Antwerp saw the lead over Club Brugge maintained at three points.

The title race swung in the direction of Bruges in back-to-back games between Union and Club, with the champions earning a tight 2-0 win in Brussels to draw level on points,[4] with Club going top under the "half-points" rule, as Union had needed their tally from the regular season rounded-up. Club Brugge won the midweek return 1-0 at the Jan Breydel through an own goal from goalkeeper Anthony Moris to take a three-point lead with two games to go.[5][6]

Club Brugge clinched the league crown in their next (and penultimate) game against Royal Antwerp,[7][8] despite Union beating Anderlecht for the fourth time in the season 2-0 at Lotto Park.[9][10] Eventually, Club finished four points clear of Union SG, 50 points compared to USG's 46, historically qualifying Union for the UEFA Champions League. It was the completion of a three-in-a-row for Club Brugge, whose coach Alfred Schreuder would leave within 48 hours of the title success for Ajax.

Union had been top for 200 days.

League glory for Union would have seen them become the first newly-promoted side to win a top-20 European national league championship at the first attempt since Kaiserslautern's 1998 Bundesliga success.[11][12]

Union's runners-up spot qualified them for the UEFA Champions League qualifiers, sending them into European football for the first time since 1964-65, and their first UEFA competition after featuring in five editions of the Fairs Cup in the 1950s and 60s.[13]

Teams

Stadiums and locations

Locations of the 2021–22 Belgian First Division A teams
Matricule Club Location Venue Capacity
35 Anderlecht Anderlecht, Brussels Constant Vanden Stock Stadium 21,500
1 Antwerp Antwerp Bosuilstadion 16,144
13 Beerschot Antwerp Olympic Stadium 12,771
12 Cercle Brugge Bruges Jan Breydel Stadium 29,042
22 Charleroi Charleroi Stade du Pays de Charleroi 14,000
3 Club Brugge Bruges Jan Breydel Stadium 29,042
4276 Eupen Eupen Kehrwegstadion 08,363
322 Genk Genk Luminus Arena 24,956
7 Gent Ghent Ghelamco Arena 20,000
19 Kortrijk Kortrijk Guldensporen Stadion 09,399
25 Mechelen Mechelen AFAS-stadion Achter de Kazerne 16,700
31 Oostende Ostend Versluys Arena 08,432
18 Oud-Heverlee Leuven Leuven Den Dreef 10,000
167 Seraing Seraing Stade du Pairay 8,207
373 Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden Stayen 14,600
16 Standard Liège Liège Stade Maurice Dufrasne 30,023
10 Union SG Saint-Gilles, Brussels Stade Joseph Marien 8,000
5381 Zulte Waregem Waregem Regenboogstadion 12,500

Number of teams by provinces

Number of teams Province or region Team(s)
5  West Flanders Cercle Brugge, Club Brugge, Kortrijk, Oostende and Zulte Waregem
3  Antwerp

Antwerp, Beerschot and Mechelen

 Liège Eupen, Seraing and Standard Liège
2  Brussels Anderlecht and Union SG
 Limburg

Genk and Sint-Truiden

1  East Flanders Gent
 Flemish Brabant Oud-Heverlee Leuven
 Hainaut Charleroi

Personnel and kits

Club Manager Kit Manufacturer Sponsors
Anderlecht Belgium Vincent Kompany Joma DVV Insurance (home)
Candriam (away)
Antwerp Denmark Brian Priske Jako Ghelamco
Beerschot Belgium Greg Vanderidt (caretaker) [n 1] XIII[n 2] Yelo
Cercle Brugge Austria Dominik Thalhammer [n 3] Kappa Napoleon Games
Charleroi Belgium Edward Still Kappa Lotto
Club Brugge Netherlands Alfred Schreuder [n 4] Macron Unibet
Eupen Australia Michael Valkanis [n 5] Adidas Qatar Airways
Genk Germany Bernd Storck [n 6] Nike Beobank
Gent Belgium Hein Vanhaezebrouck Craft VDK Bank
Kortrijk France Karim Belhocine [n 7] Jako AGO Jobs & HR
Mechelen Belgium Wouter Vrancken Erreà Telenet
OH Leuven Belgium Marc Brys Adidas King Power
Oostende Belgium Yves Vanderhaeghe [n 8] Kipsta Star Casino
Seraing France Jean-Louis Garcia [n 9] Kappa Star Casino
Sint-Truiden Germany Bernd Hollerbach Macron DMM.com
Standard Liège Slovenia Luka Elsner [n 10] Adidas VOO
Union SG Belgium Felice Mazzù Le Coq Sportif Lotto
Zulte-Waregem Belgium Davy De fauw & Belgium Timmy Simons [n 11] Patrick Napoleon Games

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position Replaced by Date of appointment
Charleroi France Karim Belhocine Sacked[14] End of 2020–21 season [n 12] Pre-season Belgium Edward Still 16 May 2021[15]
Eupen Spain Beñat San José Left[16] Germany Stefan Krämer 9 June 2021[17]
Beerschot Belgium Will Still Replaced[18] Belgium Peter Maes 20 May 2021[18]
Seraing Belgium Emilio Ferrera Left for coaching position at Gent[19][20] Spain Jordi Condom 28 May 2021[21]
Sint-Truiden Belgium Peter Maes Replaced by Beerschot[18] Germany Bernd Hollerbach 5 June 2021[22]
Antwerp Belgium Franky Vercauteren Replaced by Priske[23] Denmark Brian Priske 29 May 2021[23]
Beerschot Belgium Peter Maes Sacked[24] 15 September 2021 18th Belgium Marc Noë (caretaker) 15 September 2021[24]
Belgium Marc Noë Caretaker replaced[25] 21 September 2021 18th Argentina Javier Torrente 21 September 2021[25]
Standard Liège Senegal Mbaye Leye Sacked[26] 5 October 2021 12th Slovenia Luka Elsner 7 October 2021[27]
Kortrijk Slovenia Luka Elsner Signed for Standard Liège[27] 7 October 2021 8th France Karim Belhocine 12 October 2021[28]
Cercle Brugge Belgium Yves Vanderhaeghe Sacked[29] 28 November 2021 17th Austria Dominik Thalhammer 28 November 2021[30]
Genk Netherlands John van den Brom Sacked[31] 6 December 2021 8th Germany Bernd Storck 7 December 2021[32]
Zulte Waregem Belgium Francky Dury Sacked[33] 17 December 2021 17th Belgium Davy De fauw & Belgium Timmy Simons 17 December 2021[33]
Seraing Spain Jordi Condom Mutual consent[34] 27 December 2021 17th France Jean-Louis Garcia 3 January 2022[35]
Club Brugge Belgium Philippe Clement Signed for France Monaco[36] 3 January 2022 2nd Netherlands Alfred Schreuder 3 January 2022[37]
Oostende Germany Alexander Blessin Signed for Italy Genoa[38] 19 January 2022 15th Germany Markus Pflanz (caretaker) 19 January 2022[38]
Beerschot Argentina Javier Torrente Sacked[39] 7 February 2022 18th Belgium Greg Vanderidt (caretaker) 7 February 2022[39]
Oostende Germany Markus Pflanz Caretaker replaced[40] 11 February 2022 14th Belgium Yves Vanderhaeghe 11 February 2022[40]
Eupen Germany Stefan Krämer Sacked[41] 16 February 2022 15th Australia Michael Valkanis 16 February 2022[41]

Regular season

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Source: Jupiler Pro League Script error: No such module "In lang"., Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away matches won; 6) Away goal difference; 7) Away goals scored; 8) Play-off.[42]

Positions by round

The table lists the positions of teams after completion of each round. However, several matches were not completed in the intended timeframe, resulting in the table below showing teams with different number of matches played as from matchday 19:

  • The match between Standard Liège and Beerschot of matchday 19 was postponed due to a strike by the police. With the match being cancelled less than three hours prior to the match, Beerschot requested to be given a 0–3 win by forfeit; however the ruling was not in their favour.[43]
  • The match between Kortrijk and Antwerp of matchday 21 was postponed due to a large number of players of Antwerp testing positive for COVID-19 one day prior to the match.[44] The match was played between matchdays 25 and 26.
  • With Genk missing nine players in January 2022 due to the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations and the CONMEBOL 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the club was allowed to shift two of its matches. The match between Genk and Mechelen of matchday 24 was shifted forward and was played between matchdays 22 and 23, while the match between Oud-Heverlee Leuven and Genk of matchday 25 was moved backwards to be played between matchdays 26 and 27[45]
  • The match between Zulte Waregem and Oostende of matchday 22 was postponed due to a large number of players of Zulte Waregem testing positive for COVID-19 two days prior to the match.[46]
  • On 15 January 2022, KV Mechelen decided not to send a team to their away match at OH Leuven, as part of matchday 22. The club "wanted to make a statement", as their earlier request to have the match postponed was declined due to their third goalkeeper not being considered in the number of players testing positive, as he was still under the age of 21.[47] Initially, the disciplinary committee ordered the match to be replayed, as it rules that the rule based on age was discriminatory and hence not legal, eventually however the Belgian Court for Sports Arbitration ruled in favour of OH Leuven on 9 March, awarding them a 5–0 forfeit win.
  • Finally, the match between Standard Liège and Charleroi of matchday 17 was abandoned in minute 87 due to home supporter violence, while Charleroi was leading 0–3. Due to the combination of it being almost completed, Charleroi leading strongly and Standard supporters being the cause of the problem, main media outlets were reporting the result as final, already including three points for Charleroi [48] Only on 13 January 2022 it was ruled that the match would not be finished or replayed and that the result would stand.[48]

Script error: No such module "Sports rbr table".

Results

Home \ Away
Source: Jupiler Pro League Script error: No such module "In lang"., Soccerway

Play-offs

Play-off I

Points obtained during the regular season were halved (and rounded up) before the start of the playoff. Union SG started with 39 points, Club Brugge 36 points, Anderlecht and Antwerp 32 points each. As the points of Union SG and Antwerp were rounded up, in case of ties they would always be ranked below the team (or teams) they are tied with. The deciding factor after that would be finishing position in the regular season.


Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation CLU USG AND ANT
1 Club Brugge (C) 6 4 2 0 8 2 +6 50 Qualification for the Champions League group stage 1–0 1–1 1–0
2 Union SG 6 2 1 3 5 5 0 46 Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round 0–2 3–1 0–1
3 Anderlecht 6 2 2 2 8 7 +1 40 Qualification for the Europa Conference League third qualifying round 0–0 0–2 2–1
4 Antwerp 6 1 1 4 3 10 −7 36 Qualification for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round 1–3 0–0 0–4
Source: Jupiler Pro League Script error: No such module "In lang"., Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points without (possible) half points added due to rounding; 3) Regular season finishing position.[49]
(C) Champion.

Play-off II

Points obtained during the regular season were halved (and rounded up) before the start of the playoff. Gent started with 31 points, Charleroi with 27 points, and both Mechelen and Genk with 26 points each. The points of Genk were rounded up, and hence in case of ties they will always be ranked below the team (or teams) they are tied with.

The winner of Play-Off II was originally scheduled to play the fourth-placed team of Play-Off I to determine which team would qualify for the second qualifying round of the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League. However, since Gent won both the 2021–22 Belgian Cup (thus already qualifying for the 2022–23 UEFA Europa League) and Play-off II, the fourth-placed team of Play-Off I qualified automatically for the Europa Conference League and the European play-off was not contested.


Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation GNT GNK CHA MEC
1 Gent 6 4 0 2 9 5 +4 43 Qualification for the Europa League play-off round[lower-alpha 1] 0–1 1–2 1–0
2 Genk 6 3 2 1 10 8 +2 37 0-2 3–2 4–2
3 Charleroi 6 2 1 3 10 12 −2 34 1–3 2–2 3–2
4 Mechelen 6 1 1 4 6 10 −4 30 1–2 0–0 1–0
Source: Jupiler Pro League Script error: No such module "In lang"., Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points without (possible) half points added due to rounding; 3) Regular season finishing position.[50]
Notes:
  1. Gent qualified for the Europa League play-off round as the 2021–22 Belgian Cup winners.

Promotion-Relegation play-off

The team finishing in 17th place competes in a two-legged match with the runner-up of the 2021–22 Belgian First Division B, with the aggregate winner to play in the 2022–23 Belgian First Division A, while the losing team will take part in the 2022–23 Belgian First Division B.

On 2 April 2021, following a draw away to Oostende, Seraing was certain of finishing 17th and forced to play the relegation play-off against a team from the Belgian First Division B. Seraing had won promotion last season by winning the 2020–21 Promotion-Relegation play-off and will now be looking to avoid going down again the same way. One day later in the 2021–22 Belgian First Division B, RWDM lost their match away to Deinze, meaning they would finish second and thus play Seraing for promotion.

Seraing won 1–0 on aggregate
Seraing remains in Belgian First Division A. RWD Molenbeek remains in Belgian First Division B.

Season statistics

As of 10 April 2022

Top scorers & assists - regular season only

Source: Soccerway

Top scorers ranking
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Germany Deniz Undav Union SG 25
2 Switzerland Michael Frey Antwerp 22
3 Nigeria Paul Onuachu Genk 19
Morocco Tarik Tissoudali Gent
5 Belgium Jelle Vossen Zulte Waregem 17
6 Belgium Nikola Storm Mechelen 15
Netherlands Joshua Zirkzee Anderlecht
8 Belgium Charles De Ketelaere Club Brugge 14
9 Belgium Hugo Cuypers Mechelen 13
Guinea-Bissau Zinho Gano Zulte Waregem
Jamaica Shamar Nicholson Charleroi
Belgium Dante Vanzeir Union SG
Assists ranking
Rank Player Club Assists
1 France Xavier Mercier OH Leuven 13
2 France Jean-Luc Dompé Zulte Waregem 11
Spain Sergio Gómez Anderlecht
Netherlands Noa Lang Club Brugge
5 Japan Junya Ito Genk 10
6 Belgium Dante Vanzeir Union SG 9
7 Belgium Hugo Cuypers Mechelen 8
Germany Deniz Undav Union SG
9 6 players 7

Awards

Award[51] Winner Club
Player of the Year Germany Deniz Undav Union SG
Top goalscorer
Manager of the Year Belgium Felice Mazzù Union SG
Youngster of the Year Belgium Charles De Ketelaere Club Brugge
Referee of the Year Belgium Erik Lambrechts
Goal of the Year Japan Junya Ito Genk
Lifetime Achievement Award Belgium Pierre Denier Genk
Football & Community Award Genk & Waasland-Beveren
Groundsmen Award OH Leuven

Notes

  1. Belgium Peter Maes was the manager for matchdays 1 through 7, Belgium Marc Noë took the honours as caretaker manager on matchday 8, and Argentina Javier Torrente was the manager for matchdays 9 until 26.
  2. An apparel brand made by club.
  3. Belgium Yves Vanderhaeghe was the manager for matchdays 1 through 16.
  4. Belgium Philippe Clement was the manager for matchdays 1 through 21.
  5. Germany Stefan Krämer was the manager for matchdays 1 through 27.
  6. Netherlands John van den Brom was the manager for matchdays 1 through 17.
  7. Slovenia Luka Elsner was the manager for matchdays 1 through 10 before moving to Standard Liège.
  8. Germany Alexander Blessin was the manager for matchdays 1 through 21 and Germany Markus Pflanz was caretaker manager for matchdays 22 through 26.
  9. Spain Jordi Condom was the manager for matchdays 1 through 21.
  10. Senegal Mbaye Leye was the manager for matchdays 1 through 10.
  11. Belgium Francky Dury was the manager for matchdays 1 through 19.
  12. Belhocine and Charleroi announced their separation on 20 April 2021, but Belhocine would remain in charge for the remaining training sessions. Charleroi had no more matches left as it had not qualified for any of the play-offs and hence was in no rush to appoint a new manager.

References

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. 23.0 23.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. 24.0 24.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. 25.0 25.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. 27.0 27.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. 33.0 33.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. 38.0 38.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. 39.0 39.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. 40.0 40.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. 41.0 41.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. 48.0 48.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Template:2021–22 in Belgian football