Morocco’s Zakaria El Ouahdi fires Genk to derby victory over Sint-Truiden

Moroccan international Zakaria El Ouahdi delivered a top performance on Sunday as he guided KRC Genk to a 1-0 victory over Sint-Truidense V.V. in the Limburg derby in the Belgian Pro League.

El Ouahdi scored the only goal of the encounter during his 100th appearance for Genk, finding the net in the 20th minute after a well-worked team move.

Following a clever backheel pass from teammate Ruben Meresola, the Moroccan full back found himself in space and calmly finished to give his side the lead.

His influential display earned him the Man of the Match award as Genk pushed to extend their advantage. The home side came close to doubling the score before the half-hour mark when Konstantinos Charitsas initiated a swift counterattack and set up Junya Ito, but the Japanese forward’s effort drifted narrowly wide in the 27th minute.

Genk continued to threaten after the break. Charitsas again tested goalkeeper Leo Kokopo with a curling effort in the 48th minute as the hosts maintained their attacking pressure.

Further chances followed for Genk, with attempts from Jarne Stokers and Bryan Heynen forcing saves from the opposing goalkeeper as the team looked to secure a second goal.

The result lifts Genk to seventh place in the standings with 41 points, while Sint-Truiden remain third with 57 points despite the derby defeat.