Anderlecht lost its first points by conceding a 1-1 draw at Rigas Futbola Skola (RFS) as part of the 4th day of the Europa League, Thursday in Riga, Latvia. Anderlecht, which opened the scoring by Mario Stroeykens (85th), finds itself in 5th position with 10 points like Ajax (2nd), Galatasaray (3rd), Frankfurt (4th) and Bilbao (6th). Lazio is the sole leader (12). N’Diaye’s autogoal (90th + 6) gave the RFS a second point (32nd).
The RFS started the match with a free spirit and thought they had scored a good blow when a goal from Janis Savaļnieks was canceled for offside (5th). After starting the duel without much momentum, Anderlecht had more control over the game without representing a concrete threat until a goal from Kasper Dolberg was canceled for a prior foul by the Dane (21st). The Mauves continued to circulate the ball but Francis Amuzu’s dribbles did not cause any major problems for tough opponents. The Latvians would even have taken the advantage if Colin Coosemans had not had a superb reflex on a powerful header from Haruna Njie (39th).
After the restart, Anderlecht forced three corners in a row, which created no danger. This meeting was not a ballad like against Kortrijk in the championship. An impression reinforced when Cédric Kouadio found himself facing Coosemans and shot at the goalkeeper (49th). All this prompted David Hubert to change his offensive animation by making a triple change (62nd). Under the leadership of Samuel Edozie and Mario Stroeykens, Anderlecht has regained some of its football. Thanks to a dazzling strike from its midfielder (85th, 0-1), Anderlecht flirted with victory but in stoppage time, N’Diaye foiled his team’s plans by scoring against his side (90th + 6, 1 -1).
Relive the highlights of the match:
Belgium
