2020–21 Belgian First Division A
118th season of top-tier football in Belgium
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The 2020–21 Belgian First Division A was the 118th season of top-tier football in Belgium. As part of a proposal by the Jupiler Pro League's board of directors accepted by the General Assembly on 15 May 2020, the 2020–21 season would involve shortened playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Only the top four teams would play for the title, while teams five through eight would play for the remaining ticket into Europe.[1] The league fixtures were announced on 8 July 2020.[2] Club Brugge successfully defended their title from the previous season, finishing level on points in the title play-offs with Racing Genk, as regular season runners-up Royal Antwerp's challenge faded.
Waasland-Beveren
| Season | 2020–21 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 8 August 2020 – 23 May 2021 |
| Champions | Club Brugge |
| Relegated | Excel Mouscron Waasland-Beveren |
| Champions League | Club Brugge Genk |
| Europa League | Royal Antwerp |
| Europa Conference League | Gent Anderlecht |
| Matches | 306 |
| Goals | 914 (2.99 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Paul Onuachu (30 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Gent 5–1 Beerschot (4 October 2020) Genk 4–0 Eupen (30 October 2020) Gent 4–0 Excel Mouscron (15 February 2021) Gent 4–0 Charleroi (10 April 2021) Genk 4–0 Sint-Truiden (11 April 2021) |
| Biggest away win | Zulte Waregem 0–6 Club Brugge (20 September 2020) |
| Highest scoring | Kortrijk 5–5 Beerschot (7 November 2020) |
| Longest winning run | 10 matches Club Brugge |
| Longest unbeaten run | 12 matches Club Brugge |
| Longest winless run | 10 matches Cercle Brugge Excel Mouscron Waasland-Beveren |
| Longest losing run | 7 matches Cercle Brugge |
← 2019–20 2021–22 →
All statistics correct as of 20 May 2021. | |
Team changes
Waasland-Beveren were originally relegated to the Belgian First Division B, as they were the bottom-placed team when the 2019–20 Belgian First Division A stopped prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, following legal proceedings, they remained in the top-flight, and instead, the league was expanded to 18 teams, with both OH Leuven and Beerschot being promoted (normally only one of them would have gained promotion). Technically, under its current form and owners, Beerschot will make its debut in the top tier of Belgian football, although in reality two teams with the same identity have played at the top level: Beerschot VAC (81 seasons, last in 1990–91) and Beerschot AC (until its bankruptcy at the end of the 2012–13 season, and known as Germinal Beerschot from 1999 until 2011). OH Leuven returned to the top tier after an absence of four seasons, when they dropped to the last place on the ultimate matchday of the 2015–16 season.
Format change
With now 18 instead of 16 teams, the format has changed somewhat. While the season still starts with an initial round-robin phase in which all teams play each other twice, the end of season play-offs have been shortened temporarily and for the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons only. The title playoffs will now only be played by the top four teams (instead of six) and the Europa play-offs will now be played by the teams finishing fifth through eight (instead of all teams finishing below 6th). As a result, for all teams finishing below 8th, the season will be over upon completion of the round-robin phase, with the team in last position being relegated. One exception is the team finishing in 17th position, as this team will play a promotion-relegation play off against the 2nd-place finisher in the 2020–21 Belgian First Division B, with the winner playing in the 2021–22 Belgian First Division A.
Teams
Stadiums and locations
| Matricule | Club | Location | Venue | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | Anderlecht | Anderlecht | Constant Vanden Stock Stadium | 21,500 |
| 1 | Antwerp | Antwerp | Bosuilstadion | 12,975 |
| 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 | 8,363 |
| 322 | Genk | Genk | Luminus Arena | 24,956 |
| 7 | Gent | Ghent | Ghelamco Arena | 20,000 |
| 19 | Kortrijk | Kortrijk | Guldensporen Stadion | 9,399 |
| 25 | Mechelen | Mechelen | AFAS-stadion Achter de Kazerne | 16,700 |
| 216 | Mouscron | Mouscron | Stade Le Canonnier | 10,571 |
| 31 | Oostende | Ostend | Versluys Arena | 8,432 |
| 18 | Oud-Heverlee Leuven | Leuven | Den Dreef | 10,000 |
| 373 | Sint-Truiden | Sint-Truiden | Stayen | 14,600 |
| 16 | Standard Liège | Liège | Stade Maurice Dufrasne | 30,023 |
| 4068 | Waasland-Beveren | Beveren | Freethiel Stadion | 8,190 |
| 5381 | Zulte Waregem | Waregem | Regenboogstadion | 12,500 |
Number of teams by provinces
| Number of teams | Province or region | Team(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Cercle Brugge, Club Brugge, Kortrijk, Oostende and Zulte Waregem | |
| 3 | ||
| 2 | Gent and Waasland-Beveren | |
| Charleroi and Mouscron | ||
| Eupen and Standard Liège | ||
|
Genk and Sint-Truiden | ||
| 1 | Anderlecht | |
| Oud-Heverlee Leuven | ||
Personnel and kits
| Club | Manager | Kit Manufacturer | Sponsors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anderlecht | Joma | DVV Insurance (home) Candriam (away) | |
| Antwerp | Jako | Ghelamco | |
| Beerschot | XIII[n 4] | Yelo | |
| Cercle Brugge | Kappa | Napoleon Games | |
| Charleroi | Kappa | Lotto | |
| Club Brugge | Macron | Unibet | |
| Eupen | Adidas | Qatar Airways | |
| Excel Mouscron | Uhlsport | Star Casino | |
| Genk | Nike | Beobank | |
| Gent | Craft | VDK Bank | |
| Kortrijk | Jako | AGO Jobs & HR | |
| Mechelen | Jartazi | Telenet | |
| OH Leuven | Adidas | King Power | |
| Oostende | Kipsta | Star Casino | |
| Sint-Truiden | Macron | DMM.com | |
| Standard Liège | New Balance | VOO | |
| Waasland-Beveren | Uhlsport | Star Casino | |
| Zulte-Waregem | Patrick | Napoleon Games |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cercle Brugge | End of contract[3] | End of 2019–20 season | Pre-season | 3 July 2020[4] | ||
| Antwerp | End of contract[5] | 20 May 2020[6] | ||||
| Sint-Truiden | Mutual consent[7] | 2 June 2020[8] | ||||
| Waasland-Beveren | Caretaker replaced | 4 June 2020 [9] | ||||
| Oostende | Replaced[10] | 7 June 2020[10] | ||||
| Standard Liège | Resigned[11] | 10 June 2020[12] | ||||
| Excel Mouscron | Mutual consent[13] | 18 July 2020[14] | ||||
| Anderlecht | Kompany became sole manager[15] | 17 August 2020 | 3rd | 17 August 2020[15] | ||
| Gent | Sacked[16] | 20 August 2020 | 16th | 20 August 2020[16] | ||
| Gent | Sacked[17] | 14 September 2020 | 16th | 14 September 2020 | ||
| Genk | Sacked[18] | 15 September 2020 | 14th | 15 September 2020 | ||
| Genk | Caretaker replaced[19] | 24 September 2020 | 14th | 24 September 2020 | ||
| Excel Mouscron | Sacked[20] | 19 October 2020 | 18th | 20 October 2020[21] | ||
| Genk | Hired by |
2 November 2020 | 7th | 8 November 2020 [n 13] | ||
| Sint-Truiden | Sacked[24] | 1 December 2020 | 16th | 1 December 2020 | ||
| Gent | Sacked[25] | 3 December 2020 | 12th | 4 December 2020 | ||
| Sint-Truiden | Caretaker replaced[27] | 7 December 2020 | 17th | 7 December 2020 | ||
| Standard Liège | Sacked[28] | 26 December 2020 | 11th | 30 December 2020 | ||
| Antwerp | Hired by |
29 December 2020 | 5th | 4 January 2021 | ||
| Beerschot | Hired by |
17 January 2021 | 10th | 19 January 2021 | ||
| Kortrijk | Sacked[34] | 31 January 2021 | 15th | 31 January 2021 | ||
| Cercle Brugge | Sacked[35] | 1 February 2021 | 17th | 3 February 2021 |
Regular season
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Club Brugge (C) | 34 | 24 | 4 | 6 | 73 | 26 | +47 | 76 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League and Play-offs I[a] |
| 2 | Antwerp | 34 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 57 | 48 | +9 | 60 | Qualification for the Play-offs I |
| 3 | Anderlecht | 34 | 15 | 13 | 6 | 51 | 34 | +17 | 58 | |
| 4 | Genk[b] | 34 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 67 | 48 | +19 | 56 | |
| 5 | Oostende[c] | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 49 | 41 | +8 | 53 | Qualification for the Play-offs II |
| 6 | Standard Liège | 34 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 52 | 41 | +11 | 50 | |
| 7 | Gent | 34 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 55 | 42 | +13 | 49 | |
| 8 | Mechelen | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 54 | 54 | 0 | 48 | |
| 9 | Beerschot | 34 | 14 | 5 | 15 | 58 | 64 | −6 | 47 | |
| 10 | Zulte Waregem | 34 | 14 | 4 | 16 | 53 | 69 | −16 | 46 | |
| 11 | OH Leuven | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 54 | 59 | −5 | 45 | |
| 12 | Eupen | 34 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 44 | 55 | −11 | 43 | |
| 13 | Charleroi | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 46 | 49 | −3 | 42 | |
| 14 | Kortrijk | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 44 | 57 | −13 | 39 | |
| 15 | Sint-Truiden | 34 | 10 | 8 | 16 | 41 | 52 | −11 | 38 | |
| 16 | Cercle Brugge | 34 | 11 | 3 | 20 | 40 | 51 | −11 | 36 | |
| 17 | Waasland-Beveren (R) | 34 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 44 | 70 | −26 | 31 | Qualification for the Relegation play-off |
| 18 | Excel Mouscron[c] (R) | 34 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 32 | 54 | −22 | 31 | Relegation to First Division B |
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.[40]
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- The regular season winners will qualify for the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League if they do not qualify for the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League in the playoffs or for the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League through the 2020–21 Belgian Cup.
- On 14 April 2021 news was released that both Excel Mouscron and Oostende had not received a Belgian professional football license for the coming season, a requirement to play at the top two levels of Belgian football. For Oostende, a lack of financial transparency, together with generally poor quality and incompleteness of the submitted report, was given as the main reason by the committee for not awarding a license, while Excel Mouscron was refused a license as besides insufficient transparency, the committee also questioned several cash flows and whether the club was creditworthy in general, also due to the fact that the wages for the months of February and March had not yet been paid at that point. For Excel Mouscron, it was already the sixth year running the license was (initially) refused, however, the club has appealed the decision with the Belgian Court for Sports Arbitrage (BAS) successfully on each occasion and intended to do so again. Oostende was planning to launch an appeal as well, with the BAS to rule on the matter for both clubs before the 10th of May. Both clubs were allowed to add new documents to their case, but in case they however still did not receive a license after appeal, knew they would have been forced to relegate to the 2021–22 Belgian Division 2 and start the season with a 3-point penalty.[37] Both Excel Mouscron and Oostende were however eventually awarded a license after appeal, meaning Oostende remained at the top level, while Excel Mouscron only dropped one level.[38][39]
Results
Play-offs
Play-Off I
The points obtained during the regular season were halved (and rounded up) before the start of the playoff. As a result, the teams started with the following points before the playoff: Club Brugge 38, Antwerp 30, Anderlecht 29 and Genk 28.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation | CLU | GNK | ANT | AND | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Club Brugge (C) | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 44 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage | — | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | |
| 2 | Genk | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 5 | +10 | 44 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round | 3–0 | — | 4–0 | 1–1 | |
| 3 | Antwerp | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 35 | Qualification for the Europa League play-off round | 0–0 | 2–3 | — | 1–0 | |
| 4 | Anderlecht | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 11 | −2 | 33 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League third qualifying round | 3–3 | 1–2 | 2–2 | — |
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points without (possible) half points added due to rounding; 3) Regular season finishing position.[41]
(C) Champions
Play-Off II
The points obtained during the regular season were halved (and rounded up) before the start of the playoff. As a result, the teams started with the following points before the playoff: Oostende 27, Standard 25, Gent 25 and Mechelen 24. The points of Oostende and Gent were rounded up, therefore in case of any ties on points at the end of the playoffs, the half point will be deducted for these teams.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation | GNT | MEC | OOS | STA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gent | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 38 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round | — | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Mechelen | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 11 | +4 | 35 | 1–2 | — | 5–3 | 3–1 | ||
| 3 | Oostende | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 16 | −1 | 34 | 0–4 | 2–2 | — | 6–2 | ||
| 4 | Standard Liège | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 17 | −10 | 28 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | — |
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points without (possible) half points added due to rounding; 3) Regular season finishing position.[42]
European competition play-offs
Originally, the fourth-placed team of the play-offs I (or third-placed team if the regular season winners finish fourth) and the first-placed team of the play-offs II would play two home-and-away matches to determine the Europa Conference League play-off winner, which would qualify for the second qualifying round of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League. However, since Genk, winners of the 2020–21 Belgian Cup, finished in the regular season top four and qualified for play-offs I, this guaranteed that all four teams of play-offs I would qualify for European competitions. As a result, the play-off final was not played, and the first-placed team of the play-offs II, KAA Gent, qualified for the second qualifying round of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League.[citation needed]
Promotion-Relegation play-off
The team finishing in 17th place competes in a two-legged match with the runner-up of the 2020–21 Belgian First Division B, with the aggregate winner to play in the 2021–22 Belgian First Division A, while the losing team will take part in the 2021–22 Belgian First Division B.[citation needed]
On 11 April 2021, Seraing from the Belgian First Division B qualified for the promotion-relegation playoff as a loss by Lommel against Union SG meant Seraing could no longer be overtaken for second place. On 8 May 2021, Seraing was promoted to the 2021–22 Belgian First Division A after a 6–3 aggregate win in the two-legged series and Waasland-Beveren was relegated to the 2021–22 Belgian First Division B.
| Seraing | 1–1 | Waasland-Beveren |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Seraing won 6–3 on aggregate.
Season statistics
|
|
Top scorers - regular season only
- As of matches played on 18 April 2021.[43]
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Genk | 30 | |
| 2 | OH Leuven | 21 | |
| 3 | Zulte Waregem | 20 | |
| 4 | Sint-Truiden | 17 | |
| Gent | |||
| 6 | Beerschot | 16 | |
| Cercle Brugge | |||
| 8 | Eupen | 15 | |
| 9 | Genk | 14 | |
| Club Brugge | |||
| Anderlecht | |||
Top assists
- As of matches played on 18 April 2021.
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beerschot | 16 | |
| OH Leuven | |||
| 3 | Oostende | 10 | |
| Genk | |||
| 5 | Club Brugge | 9 | |
| 6 | Antwerp | 8 | |
| 7 | Zulte Waregem | 7 | |
| Club Brugge | |||
| Charleroi | |||
| Gent | |||
| Mechelen | |||
| Kortrijk | |||
| Club Brugge | |||
Awards
Annual awards
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Year | Genk | |
| Top goalscorer | ||
| Manager of the Year | Oostende | |
| Breakthrough of the Year | Club Brugge |
| Team of the Year[44] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | |||||
| Defence | (Club Brugge) |
(Oostende) |
|||
| Midfield | (Royal Antwerp) |
(Genk) |
(Beerschot) |
Xavier Mercier (OH Leuven) | |
| Attack | (Club Brugge) | ||||
Notes
- During the first two matchdays, Kompany &
Franky Vercauteren were co-managing the squad, with Kompany also registered as player (though not playing through injury). However thereafter Kompany stopped his playing career and became the sole manager of the squad.
Hernán Losada was the manager for matchdays 1 through 21.- An apparel brand made by club.
Paul Clement was the manager for matchdays 1 through 25.
Karim Belhocine was the manager for all matches of the regular season, after which he was sacked but remained manager until the last training session of the season. Note that Charleroi had not qualified for the play-offs and hence had no more matches scheduled.
Fernando Da Cruz was managing the team for matchdays 1 to 9.
Hannes Wolf was manager for matchdays 1 to 4,
Domenico Olivieri was caretaker manager on matchdays 5 and 12; and
Jess Thorup managed the club from matchdays 6 through 11.
Jess Thorup was the manager for matchdays 1 and 2,
László Bölöni led the club for matchdays 3 through 5 and
Wim De Decker was in charge on matchdays 6 through 14.
Yves Vanderhaeghe was the manager for matchdays 1 through 25.
Kevin Muscat was the manager for matchdays 1 through 14 and
Stef Van Winckel was caretaker manager on matchday 15.
Philippe Montanier was the manager for matchdays 1 through 19.- While van den Brom was announced on 6 November 2020, caretaker Domenico Olivieri was still leading the group during the match of 7 November 2020 against Sint-Truiden, with van den Brom only officially taking charge of 8 November 2020.