In the opening match of the 3rd day of play-offs 1 in the Belgian championship, Anderlecht secured a 2-1 victory away at Lokeren. Ivorian forward Gohi Bi Cyriac opened the scoring for Anderlecht in the 6th minute, but Lokeren quickly equalized through Sérgio Dutra Júnior just four minutes later. However, Serbian striker Mitrovic restored Anderlecht’s lead, which they held onto for the remainder of the match. Despite not finding the net himself, Tunisian international Harbaoui remained a key figure in Lokeren’s attack.
After the match, Harbaoui expressed his disappointment at the result, feeling that Lokeren had missed out on several opportunities to score. He acknowledged Anderlecht’s quality and the performance of their goalkeeper Proto but believed that his team had been let down by individual errors. Despite the defeat, Harbaoui remained optimistic about Lokeren’s prospects for the rest of the championship.
With this win, Anderlecht has revitalized their title hopes and now must focus on securing victories away from home to stay in contention. In the standings, Anderlecht’s 35 points put them level with FC Bruges in second place, just two points behind leaders Standard Liège. Next, Standard Liège will face Genk on Sunday.
This match recap provides insight into the dynamics of the Belgian championship and the competitive nature of the play-offs, as well as highlighting the contributions of key players like Harbaoui and the significance of the result for both Anderlecht and Lokeren.
