In attack, the tenure of Tristan Degreef was a good move for the Anderlecht coach. The young 18-year-old had a good game, as did the other two members of the attacking trio Dreyer and Vazquez. In defense, only one change had been made, in the person of Thomas Foket. But it was not the former Red Devil who stood out in the worst possible way. His defensive partner Zanka was the author of poor control, which left Sadiq to recover, then to assist for Pablo Marín from the start of the match (1-0, 5th).
The Mauves reacted timidly. Stroeykens shot wide. Zanka was again guilty of a small blunder shortly after the quarter hour.
Finally, Anderlecht decided to accelerate. At the end of a confusing phase, Simic collected the leather to offer it to Dreyer. The Dane took advantage of Vazquez’s good call to launch the Argentinian into the area. He crossed his shot to deceive the Basque goalkeeper and put the Mauves back on track (1-1, 28th).
The little pearl of the evening would come five minutes before the break. Leoni was in the right place to take a free kick that was rejected by the Basque defense. The midfielder did not hesitate for a second to volley and clear Remiro’s top corner (1-2, 40th).
A little scare all the same before returning to the locker room calmly. When Zanka was not at fault, it was Simic’s turn to lack attention. The defender was a spectator of Oskarsson’s heavy shot, which hit Coosemans’ crossbar.
The “stars” are back
The Sociedad coach thought he would have a quiet evening, even with his B team. Anderlecht’s good first half forced him to review his game plan, bringing in several of these stars. Kubo, Aguerd and Barrenetxea came on at half-time.
The Basque mentality was changing completely. Coosemans showed his great form of the moment, while the Sociedad attackers appeared clumsy. Kubo punched above. Mendez’s header went inches past the post.
But David Hubert’s men did not spend their time defending. N’Diaye tried to break through on his left flank to serve Leoni. The 24-year-old curled his shot, but it missed. Verschaeren, who came in during the game, also shot over.
Anderlecht will host Ludogorets on October 24.
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