8′ – Goal – Théo Leoni (0 – 1)17′ – Yellow – Ludwig Augustinsson39′ – Ref. Owen Wijndal by Jelle Bataille59′ – Cont. Ritchie De Laet by Michel Ange Balikwisha59′ – Cont. Gyrano Church by George Ilenikhena67′ – Yellow – George Ilenikhena67′ – Yellow – Jan Vertonghen70′ – Yellow – Anders Dreyer70′ – Yellow – Jurgen Ekkelenkamp76′ – Cont. Yari Verschaeren by Benito Raman84′ – Cont. Kasper Dolberg by Luis Vázquez85′ – Cont. Mario Stroeykens by Amadou Diawara87′ – Cont. Jurgen Ekkelenkamp by Zeno Van Den Bosch89′ – Goal – George Ilenikhena (1 – 1)90+2′ – Yellow – Zeno Debast90+4′ – Ref. Théo Leoni by Alexis Flips
Jupiler Pro League – matchday 18 – 17/12/23 – 6:31 PM
timeiconplayerhomeTimehomeIconhomePlayerscoreawayPlayerawayIconawayTime
8′
Theo Leoni
0 – 1
Theo Leoni
8′
89′
George Ilenikhena
89′
George Ilenikhena
1 – 1
Lots of intensity, chances and two goals. Antwerp and Anderlecht shared the points after a compelling top match. For a long time, goalkeeper Butez seemed to be on the losing end after a miss in the opening phase, but just like on Wednesday, substitute Ilenikhena proved to be invaluable by providing the equalizer. Keita saw the winning goal explode on the post.
Antwerp – Anderlecht in a nutshell:
Key moment: Anderlecht seem to take full advantage after a captivating top match, but that is without counting on George Ilenikhena. In the final phase, the substitute was able to bring Antwerp alongside and the Purple & White even escaped defeat. Man of the Match: What a week for George Ilenikhena! Last Wednesday, the teenager brought De Bosuil into ecstasy with his late winning goal against Barcelona and tonight the substitute proved invaluable again with his equalizer in the final phase. Striking: Antwerp was able to avoid a defeat at the last minute, but they failed to win against Anderlecht for the seventh time in a row. Antwerp’s last victory against the Purple & White dates back to November 7, 2021.
Leoni punishes Butez’s blunder mercilessly
At Antwerp they were still on a cloud after the stunt victory against Barcelona, but The Great Old tumbled off painfully after less than ten minutes. Jean Butez let a harmless cross from Sardellla slip through his hands and Théo Leoni thanked him for his starting place with an easy goal.
The early Christmas present gave Anderlecht wings, the visitors made it quite difficult for Antwerp in the opening phase with fresh combination play. Gradually the home team got better into the match. Around the half hour mark, Kerk even had an excellent chance to make it 1-1 after a wonderful pass from Janssen, but he aimed it at Schmeichel. Ekkelenkamp was also unable to score in the restart.
Shortly afterwards, the same Ekkelenkamp came close to the equalizer again after a nice one-two with Janssen. Once again Schmeichel came out on top with a great save.
In an exciting first half, Antwerp escaped 0-2 shortly before half-time. With a wonderful pass outside the foot, Stroeykens brought Dreyer alone in front of Butez. Number 12 seemed to be in the making for the purple and white top scorer, but the Dane decided weakly and within Butez’s reach.
Ilenikhena brings salvation to Antwerp again
Some Antwerp supporters provided fireworks in the stands before the start of the second half. It turned out to be a harbinger of even more fireworks on the field. Schmeichel was immediately tested by Bataille, while Dreyer again came close to 0-2 on the other side. The Dane curled his long shot against the post.
Antwerp put Anderlecht under pressure with energetic play, but also gave away opportunities. With a shot through Alderweireld’s legs, Dolberg put Butez on the wrong foot, the goalkeeper could only watch as the shot went narrowly wide.
The home team continued to hunt for the equalizer and in the final phase Anderlecht finally cracked. Alderweireld extended a low cross from Ejuke with some luck to Ilenikhena and the substitute tapped the equalizer into the goal. It almost became 2-1 when Keita’s wonderful long shot hit the post. Schmeichel also had to be alert to an attempt by Janssen.
After the points division against Standard, Anderlecht again has to settle for a point in a top match. The Purple & White already sees Union ahead by more than eight points. For Antwerp, the gap with the competition leader is already 13 points.
“Deserved to win” vs. “This is the right result”
Mark van Bommel (Antwerp coach): “We did everything we could to win the match. We deserved it in the end. In the first half we did not have good pressure on Anderlecht, they always had an extra man in midfield. Butez made an unbelievable mistake at 0-1. He normally doesn’t make that, normally he saves us. With Kerk we had one of the biggest chances in the first half, but we didn’t finish it. In the second half, Augustinsson had could get a second yellow card. Dolberg and Dreyer then got another chance and that was it for Anderlecht. If you see our possibilities, with that shot on the post at the end. I think we well deserved to win. It was dead quiet in the locker room, everyone is very disappointed. That is the best compliment to ourselves. In four games in ten days we were now the superior party in terms of intensity, in the way of playing football. We do not let ourselves be deterred. even if we concede such a goal. We can adapt in the match without doing crazy things. Of course you have to be a bit lucky that the ball falls. How is Wijndal doing? He got a big hit from Sardella, I was standing nearby and for me that was red. He has a large bruise on his upper leg, which could take a while.” Brian Riemer (coach Anderlecht): “This match was an advertisement for Belgian football with two teams that wanted to play football. We played very well in the first half and often caused Antwerp problems. In the second half Antwerp had the upper hand, they put us under heavy pressure in search of the equalizer. It’s always annoying when you concede a goal so late, but I think this is the right result. Both teams deserved a point today. The difference with last week is that we were able to play here on an excellent turf and then you get good football. On our field it is now much more difficult to develop our game. I was very happy with the courage we showed in the first half. We missed our chances in the second half. Alderweireld saved a ball on the line, Dreyer hit the post and Dolberg scored with a great shot. We could have decided the game there. But we lost too many matches and lost possession too often, which helped Antwerp keep the pressure on us. With Hazard and Amuzu we were missing two top players today, and Delaney was too ill to play. That is of course not ideal. That’s why I’m very happy with how we handled the match. They fought as a team.”
Mandela Keita (Antwerp): “It was a very intense match, with a strong performance from both teams. Based on the second half, we could have won the match. We didn’t have that little bit of luck today, hopefully we can against Westerlo get the three points. We always believed that the goal would come and we kept fighting until the last minute. I hoped that my shot would fly into the cross, but unfortunately it was against the post. George (Ilenikhena , ed.) is a very important player, just like everyone in this team. He works very hard for the team and deserves this goal.” Jelle Bataille (Antwerp): “We have been scoring fairly easily in recent weeks, especially George. A great future awaits him and he deserves that, because he works hard. But I think there was more to it, we had the three points We have to keep it at home. We have to take the positives out of it. We put a lot of pressure in the second half and created a lot of chances. It was a matter of scoring the goal at the right time and that didn’t happen. We now have to go into those last two I want to play matches 4 out of 6 or 6 out of 6 in order to go into the winter break with a good feeling. Am I worried about the gap with Union? Not really, in Belgium the points are halved anyway.”
Phase by phase
End
A particularly fascinating battle between Antwerp and Anderlecht ends in a fair 1-1 draw. A mistake by Butez gave the Purple & White an early lead and the visitors subsequently missed the opportunity to further deepen their lead. Antwerp continued to hunt tirelessly for the equalizer and in the end Ilenikhena once again provided the redemption. After his winning goal against Barcelona, he now gave Antwerp a point at the last minute.
Schmeichel prevents the 2-1
The last chance of the match is for Antwerp. Janssen lashes out with a low bang in the turn, but ends up right on Schmeichel.
Ilenikhena falls just short on a kind of cross shot from Bataille. He just can’t hit the ball, and Anderlecht escapes again unscathed.
4 – extra time
An extra 4 minutes will be added.
Keita on the post!
Antwerp wants more and it almost succeeds. Keita hits a wonderful long shot and sees his shot explode on the post. Anderlecht crawls through the eye of the needle.
Yellow for Debast
Debast is still facing a yellow card. He is thus suspended for the next match against Racing Genk.
Immediate response from Anderlecht. The ball is turned into a corner just in front of the nose of the broken through Rits. That doesn’t yield anything.
Ilenikhena equalizes!
There is the equalizer for Antwerp! Once again it is Ilenikhena who makes the difference. Alderweireld extends a low cross from Ejuke with some luck to Ilenikhena and he hits from close range.
Time is running out for Antwerp. Van Bommel throws Van den Bosch into the fray. Ekkelenkamp can rest.
Vazquez and Diawara, they are still being dropped at Anderlecht. The match is over for Dolberg and Stroeykens.
