A very late goal from Morocco international winger MBARK BOUSSOUFA and a ninth consecutive shutout from Belgium international goalkeeper SILVIO PROTO powered league leaders RSC ANDERLECHT of Brussels past visiting KSV Cercle Bruges 1-0 in the Jupiler Pro League.
Anderlecht, who will face Dutch Eredivisie side Ajax Amsterdam at home in the UEFA Europa League this week, have not conceded a goal in all competitions since the domestic league match against SV Zulte-Waregem back on December 5 of last year.
Boussoufa, the three-time Belgian Footballer of the Year, scored his 10th league goal of the season and is now tied for club leadership with 17-year-old Belgium international phenom ROMELU LUKAKU, who did not feature in the starting line-up for the Purple and White but was sent on after the halftime break.
Anderlecht do not appear to be missing Czech Republic international midfielder JAN POLAK, who was peddled to German Bundesliga club Vfl Wolfsburg for 3.0 million Euros; former Serbia U-21 international striker DALIBOR VESELINOVIC, who was bought from FC Brussels by the defending Belgian champions for a fee probably around 600,000 Euros in mid-December, made his debut for Les Mauves et Blancs as a second half substitute.
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Belgium international midfielder GUILLAUME GILLET, who has started 22 of 23 league matches this season for Les Mauves et Blancs, grabbed the winning goal against Standard Liege soon into the second half at the Stade Constant Vanden Stock in Brussels. (John Thys/AFP/Getty Images)
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Two goals inside the opening seven minutes of the second half allowed historical Belgian powerhouse RSC ANDERLECHT to exact its revenge on traditional domestic rival STANDARD LIEGE with a 2-0 shutout victory in the Jupiler Pro League on Sunday.
And so, Anderlecht answer at home for the 5-1 hammering sustained earlier this season away at Standard Liege. With a 16th victory from 23 outings in the Belgian top flight this term, the Purple and White remain six points clear at the top of the table. Standard Liege, who have claimed 10 national championships over time but lost Serbia World Cup striker MILAN JOVANOVIC to English Premier League club FC Liverpool this past summer, slumped to seventh place in Belgium.
Belgium international midfielder GUILLAUME GILLET got the goal Anderlecht needed in the 49th minute. After nice work out on the wing, three-time Belgian Footballer of the Year MBARK BOUSSOUFA sent a ball into the box along the floor. Allowed to run by 17-year-old Belgium international striker ROMELU LUKAKU, Gillet gleefully redirected the Morocco international’s pass into the net for this third league goal this season.
Belgium international defender JELLE VAN DAMME, who was sold by RSC Anderlecht to FC Wolverhampton Wolves in England this summer, made his Jupiler Pro League debut for Standard Liege in the match at the Constant Vanden Stock in Brussels. Deployed on the left in midfield, the 27-year-old one-time Ajax Amsterdam and Werder Bremen man was whistled and jeered unmercifully at every touch throughout the match. Shortly after Gillet’s opener, van Damme delighted the crowd by conceding a penalty with a foul in the box.
Midfielder JONATHAN LEGEAR, who spent several years in the youth system at Standard Liege before starting his senior professional career with Anderlecht, calmly dispatched the spot kick for his fifth goal in the Jupiler Pro League this season.
Legear, who made his international debut for Belgium in the European Championships qualifying match opposite Kazakhstan earlier this fall, actually scored his very first league goal for Anderlecht against Standard Liege back during the 2004-05 campaign; reports have linked the 23-year-old winger with English Premier League side FC Everton recently.
Will Legear’s latest goal against his former club Standard Liege be the last for the Belgium international midfielder on behalf of Anderlecht in the Jupiler Pro League?
Currently six points clear at the top and looking to claim a 31st domestic championship, ROYAL SPORTING CLUB ANDERLECHT will have a score to settle when the Brussels-based club host visiting ROYAL STANDARD DE LIEGE at the Stade Constant Vanden Stock on Sunday.
Although trainer ARIEL JACOBS’ charges have lost just two while winning 15 of 22 Jupiler Pro League contests this term, one of those setbacks was the 5-1 shellacking Standard Liege inflicted upon Anderlecht in early October.
As a matter of fact, Anderlecht easily lead the Belgian top flight with just 14 goals conceded this season; subtract the five balls put past him by Standard Liege in the last meeting and Belgium international goalkeeper SILVIO PROTO has allowed a mere nine goals in the other twenty-one games (0.43 avg) while posting 13 shutouts in between the sticks for the Purple and White this campaign.
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Belgium international goalkeeper SILVIO PROTO of RSC Anderlecht makes a sliding save on Portugal World Cup midfielder DANNY (10) of FC Zenit St. Petersburg, whose 30.0 million Euro move from FC Dynamo Moscow set a Russian league record in August of 2008, during the UEFA Europa League match this past fall at the Stade Constant Vanden Stock in Brussels. (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP)
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One interesting twist to the match is the return of Belgium international JELLE VAN DAMME to the Jupiler Pro League after an ill-fated journey to England earlier this year. The 26-year-old defender was sold by RSC Anderlecht to Premier League club FC Wolverhampton for the transfer fee of 2.5 million English pounds this past summer. After washing out with just six league appearances for Wolves, however, van Damme was transfered by Wolverhampton to Standard Liege for the amount it had originally paid for the Belgian defender at the end of November.
Standard Liege are sitting in sixth place in the Jupiler Pro League at the moment having won ten and lost eight of their 21 matches played. 21-year-old midfielder MEHDI CARCELA-GONZALEZ, who declared his aliegance to the national team of Morocco just this past December, leads Les Rouches with nine goals this season. Next is 20-year-old striker GOHI BI ZORO CYRIAC of Ivory Coast, acquired from English club Charlton Athletic in January of 2009, who has eight goals for Standard Liege.
The 17-year-old sensation, Belgium international striker ROMELU LUKAKU tops Anderlecht with 10 goals in the top flight this term. Right behind the teenager on the scoring chart for Les Mauves et Blancs is three-time Belgian Footballer of the Year, the Morocco international MBARK BOUSSOUFA. The 26-year-old winger has already matched his haul last season with another nine goals thus far in the Jupiler Pro League.
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17-year-old Belgium international striker ROMELU LUKAKU (14), who has scored four goals in Europe for RSC Anderlecht this season, battles for the ball with AEK Athens defender SAVAS GENTSOGLOU (90) during the UEFA Europa League match this past fall at the Stade Constant Vanden Stock in Brussels. (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP)
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United States international midfielder SACHA KLJESTAN (right), who has earned 25 caps and scored four goals for his country, celebrates a goal for RSC Anderlecht against Welsh side The New Saints with Belgium international striker TOM DE SUTTER during the UEFA Champions League match this past summer at the Stade Constant Vanden Stock in Brussels. (Yves Herman/Reuters)
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Considering the fact that 21-year-old Czech Republic international defender ONDREJ MAZUCH already spent last season at the Brussel club on loan from Italian Serie A side AS Fiorentina, it is, technically, fair to say that the most productive off-season purchase this summer for RSC ANDERLECHT has been United States international midfielder SACHA KLJESTAN.
A former All-American at Seton Hall University who had been playing professionally with Chivas USA since 2006, Kljestan had his contract sold by Major League Soccer to the 30-times champion of Belgium for an undisclosed fee last June.
A quick review of Anderlecht’s ‘big money’ acquisitions this summer :
1.53 mil Euros — mf – Lukas MARECEK ——— FC Brno (Cze)
1.30 mil Euros — df – Ondrej MAZUCH ———- AS Fiorentina (Ita)
1.00 mil Euros — st – Pablo CHAVARRIA —— CA Belgrano Cordoba (Arg)
The 22-year-old Chavarria has played in just five league games (one start) and scored but a single goal for Anderlecht thus far; the 20-year-old Marecek has made nine apperances with seven starts but has yet to find the back of the net for Les Mauves et Blancs.
Kljestan, meanwhile, has made ten starts and 13 total appearances with two goals in the Belgian top flight this season. The 25-year-old actually scored the first goal of Anderlecht’s ill-fated UEFA Champions League campaign earlier this summer against Welsh club The New Saints, as well. Kljestan also started the last four UEFA Europa League contests in midfield for the Purple and White as Anderlecht narrowly squeaked into the knockout round.
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Croatia international defender JURICA BULJAT of visiting NK Hajduk Split is knocked off the ball by the RSC Anderlecht captain and two-time defending Belgian Footballer of the Year, Morocco international winger MBARK BOUSSOUFA, at the Stade Constant Vanden Stock in Brussels. (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP)
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UEFA Europa League
Group Stage
12/16/2010
2 – RSC Anderlecht (BEL) ——— De Sutter 12′, Suarez 41′
0 – NK Hajduk Split (CRO)
An early goal a dozen minutes into the match and a second, skillful strike just before the halftime break allowed RSC ANDERLECHT to sweep aside visiting Croatian side NK HAJDUK SPLIT 2-0 for a decisive victory in Group G of the UEFA Europa League.
Coupled with Russian side Zenit St. Petersburg’s defeat of Greek outfit AEK Athens, the result allowed the Brussels club to sneak into second place on the basis of head-to-head record and claim a place in the knock-out round of the UEFA Europa League when the competition resumes after the New Year.
Belgium international striker TOM DE SUTTER, whose opportunities to shine for the Purple and White have been rather limited this season, latched onto a long clearance and outmuscled NK Hajduk Split defender MATEJ JONJIC before banking a shot in off the post to send Anderlecht out in front.
Argentine striker MATIAS SUAREZ scored his second goal of the season in Europe for Anderlecht this term with a magnificent individual effort in the 41st minute; after beating two defenders on the wing, the 22-year-old curled a sublime shot with the outside of his right foot past the diving Hajduk Split goalkeeper BOZIDAR RADOSEVIC to tuck neatly inside the far post.
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Bosnia / Herzegovina international midfielder SENIJAD IBRICIC of NK Hajduk Split slides in to tackle the ball away from Anderlecht’s Czech Republic international midfielder JAN POLAK (8) on a snowy pitch at the Stade Constant Vanden Stock in Brussels, Belgium. (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP)
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Flanked by Russia U-21 international midfielder ALEXEI IONOV (57), who scored the opening goal of the match, RSC Anderlecht’s Brazilian striker Rubenilson dos Santos da Rocha (10), better known as KANU, fights off the challenge of FC Zenit St. Petersburg’s Russia international midfielder KONSTANTIN ZYRYANOV (18) at the Grand Sports Arena of the Petrovsky Complex in Peter The Great’s famed “Window to the West” city. (Alexander Demianchuk/Reuters)
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A goal just less than a dozen minutes into the match sent runaway bracket leaders FC ZENIT ST. PETERSBURG on the way to a comfortable 3-1 triumph over visiting Belgian side RSC ANDERLECHT and a fifth consecutive victory in Group G of the UEFA Europa League.
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Stadium maintenance personnel use brooms to sweep the snow off the pitch prior to the UEFA Europa League match between FC Zenit St. Petersburg and visiting RSC Anderlecht at the Grand Sports Arena of the Petrovsky Complex; the temperature at kickoff was reported to be exactly eight degrees Fahrenheit, or -13 degrees Celsius. (Dmitri Lovetsky/AP)
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FC ZENIT ST. PETERSBURG : Malafeev ; Lukovic (Hubocan 80′), Krizanac, Lombaerts, Meira ; Ionov, Zyryanov, Danny, Shirokov, Rosina (Huszti 73′) ; Bukharov (Kanunnikov 65′)
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With veteran Portual international defender and teammate FERNANDO MEIRA seated on his duff, Russia international goalkeeper VYACHESLAV MALAFEEV of FC Zenit St. Petersburg smothers a ball in the box as RSC Anderlecht’s Brazilian striker KANU (10) sails over top at the Grand Sports Arena of the Petrovsky Complex in Peter The Great’s famed “Window to the West” city. (Alexander Demianchuk/Reuters)
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MATCH HIGHLIGHTS — (very interesting footage, this)
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Three-time Belgian Footballer of the Year MBARK BOUSSOUFA (11) of RSC Anderlecht lags behind as AEK Athens’s 32-year-old veteran midfielder and club captain PANTELIS KAFES (1), who has won 34 caps (three goals) for Greece in his career, releases the ball at the Athens Olympic Stadium. (John Kolesidis/AP)
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A goal from each side in the opening ten minutes of the second stanza saw to it visiting Belgian side RSC ANDERLECHT and AEK Athens ended in a 1-1 draw in Group G of the UEFA Europa League.
In the third minute of the second half, a disbelieving Hungary international defender ROLAND JUHASZ of RSC Anderlect was judged to have brought down AEK Athens’ Algeria World Cup striker RAFIK DJEBBOUR from behind in side the box.
Argentine striker ISMAEL BLANCO, who has been with AEK Athens since arriving – initially on loan – in August of 2007 from Primera Division club Colon de Santa Fe for what would become a combined fee of 2.35 million Euros, converted the ensuing penalty kick with a rising blast right down the middle.
AEK Athens did not stay ahead for long, however, as RSC Anderlecht soon answered after yeoman’s work along the wing by newly-capped Belgium international midfielder JONATHAN LEGEAR; the 23-year-old threaded a ball across the face of goal for Czech Republic international midfielder JAN POLAK to slide home for his first goal in Europe this season in the 54th minute.
“We missed a lot of chances so I think we could have taken all three points,” stated Juhasz, who stands second for RSC Anderlecht with three goals in Europe this season, after the match. “I’m not as happy as I might have been.”
Nevertheless, RSC Anderlecht remain in second place in Group G tied with AEK Athens on four points but ahead in the standings on the basis of head-to-head record with the 3-0 victory for the Les Mauves et Blancs in Brussels the difference between the two sides.
Zenit St. Petersburg are the runaway leaders with a 100% record after four matches in Group G of the UEFA Europa League while HNK Hadjuk Split of Croatia are last with three points.
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Belgium international midfielder GUILLAUME GILLET (30), who has scored a pair of goals in Europe for the Purple & White this season, is confronted by the AEK Athens duo of sliding club captain PANTELIS KAFES and Uruguay international midfielder CLAUDIO DADOMO (13) at the Athens Olympic Stadium. (Thanassis Stavrakis/AP)
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Czech Republic midfielder JAN POLAK (8), who was bought by the Brussels club from German Bundesliga side 1.FC Nuremberg for a fee of 3.5 million Euros in August of 2007, shoots past AEK Athens’ Argentina international goalkeeper SEBASTIAN SAJA (23) to bring RSC Anderlecht level in the 54th minute at the Athens Olympic stadium. (Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images)
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RSC Anderlecht players celebrate Polak’s equalizer against AEK Athens at the seemingly empty Athens Olympic Stadium in Greece. (John Kolesidis/Reuters)
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Algeria World Cup striker RAFIK DJEBBOUR (10) starts his run for a pass as AEK Athens teammate and Greece international midfielder PANTELIS KAFES, who, unusually, wears the # 1 jersey as an outfield player, approaches RSC Anderlecht’s Hungary international defender and goal-scorer ROLAND JUHASZ at the Stade Constant Vanden Stock in the Belgian capital city of Brussels. (John Thys/AFP/Getty Images)
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Belgium’s Footballer of the Year for last season burst into form with a goal and two assists in the game as RSC ANDERLECHT shut down visiting Greek side AEK ATHENS and inflicted a 3-0 defeat in Group G of the UEFA Europa League.
RSC Anderlecht, who dominated 14-3 in the shots-at-goal department, saw constant pressure pay off when, following a nice build-up, Morocco international winger MBARK BOUSSOUFA put away the rebound of a shot from United States international midfielder SACHA KLJESTAN for a 1-0 lead in the 31st minute.
In the second half, youthful Belgium international attacker ROMELU LUKAKU added a second for Anderlecht in the 71st minute after Boussoufa intercepted a ball in AEK Athens’ third of the field then provided a pass for teenager on the right; the 17-year-old banked his shot in off the near post to score his fourth goal of this season in Europe.
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Czech Republic international midfielder JAN POLAK (8) of RSC Anderlecht, who was bought by the Brussels club from German Bundesliga side FC Nuremberg for a reported 3.5 million Euros in August of 2007, puts his foot between the legs of AEK Athens’ Greece international midfielder GRIGORIS MAKOS (14) at the Stade Constant Vanden Stock. (Francois Lenoir/Reuters)
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Boussoufa capped his influential evening four mintues later by delivering an inswinging free kick for Anderlecht’s Hungary international defender ROLAND JUHASZ to volley home with a cheeky back heel from just about the penalty spot.
A much needed victory for RSC Anderlecht in Brussels, then, as the Purple & Whites had lost three consecutive games in European competition coming into the match with AEK Athens.
The triumph gives the Belgium capital city club its first three points in Group G and changes the complexion of everything for manager ARIEL JACOBS with the second half of the stage still to play ; Anderlecht are now level on points with AEK Athens and HNK Hadjuk Split of Croatia but claim second place in Group G behind Russian club Zenit St. Petersburg on the strength of a significantly better goal-differential.
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United States international midfielder SACHA KLJESTAN (19) of RSC Anderlecht, making his first start in Europe for the Purple & White since the 3-0 victory over Welsh club The New Saints on August 3 at the third round of the UEFA Champions League qualifying stage, moves to steal the ball from AEK Athens’ Argentine striker ISMAEL BLANCO (18) at the Stade Constant Vanden Stock. (Yves Logghe/AP)
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Morocco international winger MBARK BOUSSOUFA (11) of RSC Anderlecht, the native of Amsterdam who transferred to the Brussels club from KAA Gent for a fee of 3.5 million Euros in 2006, lines up a left-footed shot as AEK Athens defender ANESTIS ARGYRIOU (17) sticks out his right foot in an effort to block at the Stade Constant Vanden Stock. (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP)
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The defender Argyriou can only agonize as the ball from the RSC Anderlecht winger Boussoufa, the Belgian Footballer of the Year for the 2009-10 season, beats the diving Argentine goalkeeper DIEGO SEBASTIAN SAJA (23) of AEK Athens to net the first goal of the game at the Stade Constant Vanden Stock. (John Thys/AFP Getty Images)
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Morocco international winger MBARK BOUSSOUFA (right) moves to celebrate his first goal in Europe for RSC Anderlecht this season with 17-year-old Belgium international striker ROMELU LUKAKU (14) at the Stade Constant Vanden Stock in the capital city of Brussels. (John Thys/AFP/Getty Images)
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MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
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Newly-capped Croatia international midfielder ANAS SHABRINI of NK Hajduk Split attempts to shake off a pair of RSC Anderlecht midfielders, Belgium international GUILLAUME GILLET (30) and Czech LUKAS MARECEK (18) at the Gradski stadion u Poljudu in Croatia. (Reuters photo)
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A goal in the fifth minute of time added on handed NK HAJDUK SPLIT a very late 1-0 victory over visiting Belgian side RSC ANDERLECHT in Group G of the UEFA Europa League.
Neither side, both of whom dropped their opening group stage matches a few weeks ago, created very many chances in a defensive struggle that fairly called for a draw.
19-year-old striker ANTE VUKUSIC, however, provided Hajduk Split a dramatic winner with a clinical finish after receiving the decisive pass from Albania international midfielder ERVIN BULKU.
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Czech Republic international midfielder JAN POLAK (8) of RSC Anderlecht attempts to slip past Hajduk Split’s veteran 33-year-old Croatia international defender HRVOJE VEIC at the Gradski stadion u Poljudu. (Reuters photo)
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Hajduk Split’s teenage strike ANTE VUKUSIC (13) shoots past Belgium international goalkeeper SILVIO PROTO of RSC Anderlecht for the game-winning goal very deep into injury time at the Gradski stadion u Poljudu in Croatia. (Getty Images photo)
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Russia international striker ALEXANDER KERZHAKOV, who spent thirteen months in Spain with FC Sevilla before signing with FC Dynamo Moscow in February of 2008, celebrates the first of his three goals for FC Zenit St. Petersburg against RSC Anderlecht at the Stade Constant Vanden Stock in Brussels. (Getty Images)
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UEFA Europa League
Group Stage
9/16/2010
1 – RSC Anderlecht (BEL) —————— Juhasz 66′
3 – FC Zenit St. Petersburg (RUS) —— Kerzhakov 8′, 33′, 44′
Three first half goals from Russia international striker ALEXANDER KERZHAKOV propelled visiting FC ZENIT ST. PETERSBURG to a comfortable 3-1 victory over RSC ANDERLECHT in the opening round of Group G play for the UEFA Europa League.
Anderlecht, who did pull a goal back through Hungary international defender ROLAND JUHASZ in the second half, would actually amass seventeen shots at goal for the whole of the contest but Belarus international YURI ZHEVNOV had a good game in goal for Zenit St. Petersburg with eight saves.
The match marked a homecoming of sorts for Zenit St. Petersburg defender NICOLAS LOMBAERTS; the 25-year-old with nine caps for Belgium has been plying his trade in Russia since leaving AA Gent in July of 2007.
