It also doesn’t work in the cup and against ten men: Anderlecht loses to Union for the eighth (!) time, fans briefly stop the match

It also doesn't work in the cup and against ten men: Anderlecht loses to Union for the eighth (!) time, fans briefly stop the match

You don’t think it possible. Anderlecht lost to Union for the eighth (!) match in a row (2-1) and is out of the cup. The Purple & White played football for an hour with one more man, but could not make a fist. Union will soon contest the semi-finals against Club Brugge and will go to Lotto Park on Sunday to also eliminate RSCA in the competition. Can the bucket of humiliations be any fuller?

There are some people who take their driving test seven times and still don’t pass it. Well…Then you think: please, guys. Stop it. It’s also fun by bike. However, the stubborn Brian Riemer prefers a roaring engine to working on the pedals. Even after Anderlecht failed seven times in a row against Union, the Dane was hyper-motivated to finally topple the Brussels rival in this cup match.

Park in reverse

The purple and white coach had mainly practiced parking in reverse for this derby. As predicted and previously tested in top matches, the Dane placed his team almost on his own large rectangle. That’s called placing a low block. It’s anything but sexy, but Anderlecht are normally not bad at it. Jan Vertonghen and Zeno Debast often hold the fort straight. Even though it was hard work against Union from minute 1.

The home team had to survive without strongmen Amoura and Puertas, but did that matter? The yellow-blue put the knife between their teeth and flew forward. It was clear that Union did not want to choose between the cup and the league at any point. Alexander Blessin’s troops are betting on two main prizes.

Anderlecht was immediately in the grip and it was goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel who again went wrong. During a kick-out, the goalkeeper smacked the ball into Noah Sadiki’s feet. He continued and Kevin Rodriguez’s goal attempt was barely turned into a corner by Rits. “You like to talk about Schmeichel,” Riemer sometimes tells us. Well, he mainly takes care of that himself. Could be the arrival of young goalkeeper Mads Kikkenborg The Great Dane extra stimulation?

Photo: BELGIAN

In the previous seven losses, Anderlecht often fell behind early against Union. It now seemed to be narrowly avoided, but RSCA was also unable to do enough offensively. The midfield could not be freed from its stranglehold and those long balls forward yielded no results. Brian Riemer must also have cursed the name Noah Sadiki.

Red for Union

That purple and white youth product was no longer given any chances by Riemer at Anderlecht last season. In the Lotto Park they saw a right back in him and the Brussels native then left for Union, disappointed. There he developed as a physically strong midfielder and Sadiki was extremely eager against his former team. Suddenly he rushed past interim right back Mohamed Bouchouari on the right, after which Loic Lapoussin deflected the 1-0 against the ropes. Sadiki’s revenge: he was the star in the Duden Park.

It also doesn't work in the cup and against ten men: Anderlecht loses to Union for the eighth (!) time, fans briefly stop the match

Photo: BELGIAN

Losing to the same opponent eight times in a row? No, that had never happened to Anderlecht. In the 1990s they were beaten seven times in a row by Club Brugge, but such a nightmare… That wouldn’t be true. The Purple & White pressed a bit more and when Sykes stupidly lost the ball, Kevin Mac Allister had to pull the emergency brake. He took one for the team. The Argentinian saved his team with a red card, but the Unionists had to continue with ten for another hour. Now or never for RSCAyou think.

However, Brian Riemer had to get the engine into top gear. Unfortunately, that turned out not to be that easy, even with one man left. Yes, Dreyer scored a few times on goal, but the visitors did not have any big clear-cut opportunities. The drama took place on the other side. During a counter-punch from Union, Debast hit attacker Rodriguez very slightly and the VAR called ref Lothar Dhondt to the screen. Penalty, yes. The Ecuadorian striker outsmarted Schmeichel from the spot and put Union on top. As a side note, no one walked into the penalty area too early. Replaying is not an option.

It also doesn't work in the cup and against ten men: Anderlecht loses to Union for the eighth (!) time, fans briefly stop the match

Photo: BELGIAN

Angry RSCA fans

We have to be honest: the double lead for Union was simply deserved. Anderlecht once again found no answer to the virile play of their great rival. Yes, Brian Riemer constantly pointed to his watch because the home team was frequently gaining time, but at the same time his substitutions changed very little about the game. At such moments, the Dane is not a coach who can turn a match around.

A group of Purple and White fans apparently had their bucket of humiliations completely full and they started throwing cups at the Union players. Jesper Fredberg, Jan Vertonghen and Theo Leoni went to mediate, but referee Dhondt had no choice but to stop the match. Sad again for Belgian football.

It also doesn't work in the cup and against ten men: Anderlecht loses to Union for the eighth (!) time, fans briefly stop the match

Foto: Isosport

After the restart, it changed almost nothing in the game image. Yes, Anderlecht scored the 2-1 in injury time through Dreyer, but were allowed to put away the first big goal of this season. They will certainly not reach European football through the cup. In turn, the very strong Union reaches the semi-finals, just like last season, and will meet Club Brugge in two weeks. Deep down, they even dream of the first cup final in the Duden Park since 1914. That was 110 years ago. It’s actually phenomenal what those men do.

Anderlecht is now saddled with a negative record and an increasing trauma. If RSCA really wants to become a big club again, it must urgently learn to attract these types of matches? Against ten men there were really no excuses left and the mission still failed. They’re Sunday drivers, dammit. In a few days, Union will come to Lotto Park for the competition match. A ninth defeat in a row would also be a blow in the Jupiler Pro League. Then the deficit there also increases to 11 points. Try again on Sunday, guys? Do you really dare to take that re-exam again?

It also doesn't work in the cup and against ten men: Anderlecht loses to Union for the eighth (!) time, fans briefly stop the match

Photo: BELGIAN

Union: Moris, Mac Allister, Burgess, Sykes, Castro-Montes, Vanhoutte, Sadiki, Rasmussen, Lapoussin, Nilsson (57′ Leysen), Rodriguez (85′ Kabangu)

Anderlecht: Schmeichel, Bouchouari (63′ Vazquez), Debast, Vertonghen, Augustinsson (76′ Degreef), Rits, Leoni, Verschaeren, Dreyer, Hazard, Dolberg

Goals: 26’ Lapoussin (Sadiki, 1-0), 62’ Rodriguez (strafschop, 2-0), 90+4’ Dreyer (2-1)

Yellow cards: 24′ Leoni, 53′ Rits, 53′ Burgess, 90+8′ Lapoussin, 90+10′ Moris

Red cards: 32’ Mac Allister

Referee: Lothar D’Hondt

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