2018–19 Belgian First Division A

The 2018–19 Belgian First Division A (officially known as Jupiler Pro League) was the 116th season of top-tier football in Belgium.

Belgian First Division A
Season2018–19
Dates27 July 2018 – May 2019
ChampionsGenk
RelegatedLokeren
Champions LeagueGenk
Club Brugge
Europa LeagueStandard Liège
Royal Antwerp
Top goalscorerHamdi Harbaoui (25 goals)
All statistics correct as of 12 May 2019.

Team changes

Teams

Stadiums and locations
Locations of the 2018–19 Belgian First Division A teams
Matricule Club Location Venue Capacity
35 Anderlecht Anderlecht Constant Vanden Stock Stadium 21,500
1 Antwerp Antwerp Bosuilstadion 12,975
12 Cercle Brugge Bruges Jan Breydel Stadium 29,042
22 Charleroi Charleroi Stade du Pays de Charleroi 14,000
3 Club Brugge Bruges Jan Breydel Stadium 29,042
4276 Eupen Eupen Kehrweg Stadion 8,363
322 Genk Genk Luminus Arena 24,956
7 Gent Ghent Ghelamco Arena 20,000
19 Kortrijk Kortrijk Guldensporen Stadion 9,399
282 Lokeren Lokeren Daknamstadion 12,000
216 Excel Mouscron Mouscron Stade Le Canonnier 10,571
31 Oostende Ostend Versluys Arena 8,432
373 Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden Stayen 14,600
16 Standard Liège Liège Stade Maurice Dufrasne 30,023
4068 Waasland-Beveren Beveren Freethiel Stadion 8,190
5381 Zulte Waregem Waregem Regenboogstadion 12,500

Personnel and kits
Club Manager Captain Kit Manufacturer Sponsors
Anderlecht Karim Belhocine Adrien Trebel Adidas BNP Paribas Fortis
Antwerp László Bölöni Faris Haroun Jako Heylen Vastgoed
Cercle Brugge José Jeunechamps Benjamin Lambot Erima ADMB
Charleroi Felice Mazzu Francisco Martos Kappa Proximus
Club Brugge Ivan Leko Ruud Vormer Macron Daikin
Eupen Claude Makélélé Luis García Nike Aspire Academy
Excel Mouscron Bernd Storck Jérémy Huyghebaert Erima Star Casino
Genk Philippe Clement Alejandro Pozuelo Nike Beobank
Gent Jess Thorup Nana Asare Craft vdk bank
Kortrijk Yves Vanderhaeghe Hannes Van der Bruggen Jako AGO Jobs & HR
Lokeren Glen De Boeck Killian Overmeire Beltona QTeam
Oostende Franky Van der Elst Nicolas Lombaerts Joma Willems Veranda's
Sint-Truiden Marc Brys Jordan Botaka Olympic Golden Palace
Standard Liège Michel Preud'homme Sébastien Pocognoli New Balance BASE
Waasland-Beveren Adnan Čustović Milan Massop Kappa Circus.be
Zulte-Waregem Francky Dury Davy De fauw Patrick Willy Naessens Group

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position Replaced by Date of appointment
Sint-Truiden Jonas De Roeck Replaced End of 2017–18 season [n 1] Pre-season Marc Brys 21 May 2018 [1]
Oostende Adnan Čustović End of 2017–18 season Gert Verheyen 25 April 2018 [n 2] [2]
Cercle Brugge Franky Vercauteren Mutual consent End of 2017–18 season Laurent Guyot 6 June 2018 [3]
Standard Liège Ricardo Sá Pinto Resigned End of 2017–18 season Michel Preud'homme 23 May 2018 [4]
Waasland-Beveren Dirk Geeraerd Caretaker replaced End of 2017–18 season Yannick Ferrera 8 June 2018 [5]
Excel Mouscron Frank Defays Sacked 30 August 2018 [6] 16th Bernd Storck 2 September 2018 [7]
Gent Yves Vanderhaeghe 8 October 2018 [8] 7th Jess Thorup 10 October 2018 [9]
Lokeren Peter Maes 27 October 2018 [10] 15th Arnar Viðarsson (caretaker) 27 October 2018 [10]
Lokeren Arnar Viðarsson (caretaker) Caretaker replaced 2 November 2018 [11][n 3] 16th Trond Sollied 2 November 2018 [11]
Waasland-Beveren Yannick Ferrera Sacked 11 November 2018 [12] 14th Adnan Čustović 17 November 2018 [13]
Kortrijk Glen De Boeck 15 November 2018 [14] 12th Yves Vanderhaeghe 15 November 2018 [15]
Anderlecht Hein Vanhaezebrouck 16 December 2018 [16] 4th Karim Belhocine (caretaker) 16 December 2018 [16]
Anderlecht Karim Belhocine (caretaker) Caretaker replaced 6 January 2019 [17] 5th Fred Rutten 6 January 2019 [17]
Lokeren Trond Sollied Sacked 20 January 2019 [18] 16th Glen De Boeck 20 January 2019 [18]
Oostende Gert Verheyen Resigned 6 March 2019 [19] 14th Hugo Broos (caretaker) 6 March 2019 [19]
Anderlecht Fred Rutten Mutual consent 16 April 2019 [20] Regular season: 4th
Championship POs: 5th		 Karim Belhocine (caretaker) 16 April 2019 [21]
Oostende Hugo Broos (caretaker) Resigned 29 April 2019 [22] Regular season: 14th
Europa League POs: 4th		 Franky Van der Elst (caretaker) 29 April 2019 [22]
Cercle Brugge Laurent Guyot Mutual consent 2 May 2019 [23] Regular season: 13th
Europa League POs: 4th		 José Jeunechamps (caretaker) 2 May 2019 [23]

Regular season

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Genk 30 18 9 3 63 31 +32 63 Qualification for the championship play-offs
2 Club Brugge 30 16 8 6 64 32 +32 56
3 Standard Liège 30 15 8 7 49 35 +14 53
4 Anderlecht 30 15 6 9 49 34 +15 51
5 Gent 30 15 5 10 53 45 +8 50
6 Antwerp 30 14 7 9 39 34 +5 49
7 Sint-Truiden 30 12 11 7 47 36 +11 47 Qualification for the Europa League play-offs
8 Kortrijk 30 12 7 11 44 42 +2 43
9 Charleroi 30 12 6 12 43 43 0 42
10 Excel Mouscron 30 11 7 12 33 33 0 40
11 Zulte Waregem 30 8 9 13 49 60 −11 33
12 Eupen 30 10 2 18 34 57 −23 32
13 Cercle Brugge 30 7 7 16 35 59 −24 28
14 Oostende 30 6 9 15 29 52 −23 27
15 Waasland-Beveren 30 5 12 13 37 50 −13 27
16 Lokeren (R) 30 5 5 20 28 53 −25 20 Relegation to the First Division B
Source: Belgian First Division A (in Dutch), Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Away matches won; 7) Play-off.[24]
(R) Relegated.

Results
Home \ Away AND ANT CER CHA CLU EUP EXM GNK GNT KVK LOK OOS STA STR W-B ZWA
Anderlecht — 1–1 4–2 1–1 2–2 2–1 2–0 0–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 5–2 2–1 0–0 3–0 0–0
Antwerp 0–1 — 1–0 1–2 1–1 2–1 2–1 2–4 2–2 0–0 2–1 2–0 1–1 1–3 0–2 5–1
Cercle Brugge 2–1 0–3 — 2–1 2–2 0–1 2–1 2–5 0–3 1–1 3–2 2–2 1–2 1–2 2–0 3–1
Charleroi 1–2 0–1 3–1 — 2–1 1–2 3–1 1–1 2–0 0–2 2–1 1–1 0–1 1–0 2–2 3–2
Club Brugge 2–1 5–1 4–0 0–1 — 5–2 1–2 3–1 1–1 3–0 2–1 4–0 3–0 1–0 1–1 1–3
Eupen 2–1 1–2 2–0 1–4 0–4 — 1–0 0–2 2–3 0–1 4–1 1–2 2–1 1–4 1–0 2–3
Excel Mouscron 3–1 0–1 3–0 3–0 0–1 0–1 — 0–0 3–1 1–0 1–0 2–1 0–0 1–1 0–3 0–0
Genk 1–0 0–0 1–2 3–1 1–1 2–1 1–2 — 3–1 1–1 1–0 2–0 2–0 1–1 3–2 4–0
Gent 1–0 0–0 4–1 2–1 0–4 2–0 1–2 1–5 — 3–1 2–1 2–1 2–1 1–2 4–1 1–1
Kortrijk 1–4 2–0 2–1 1–2 0–0 1–3 1–0 3–3 1–2 — 2–1 1–2 0–2 3–1 2–2 4–2
Lokeren 1–2 2–1 3–1 2–4 0–1 2–0 0–0 0–4 2–2 1–3 — 0–0 0–3 2–0 1–0 0–3
Oostende 0–2 0–2 1–1 2–1 1–2 1–1 2–1 0–2 0–4 1–2 1–0 — 1–3 1–1 1–1 3–1
Standard Liège 2–1 0–2 0–0 0–0 3–1 3–0 1–1 1–1 3–2 2–1 3–1 3–1 — 3–2 4–3 4–1
Sint-Truiden 4–2 2–0 0–0 3–1 2–2 4–1 3–1 2–3 0–2 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 — 2–1 2–1
Waasland-Beveren 1–2 0–1 1–1 1–1 2–1 0–0 1–2 1–2 2–1 2–6 2–1 1–1 0–0 2–2 — 1–1
Zulte Waregem 1–2 1–2 3–2 3–1 2–5 4–0 2–2 3–3 1–3 0–2 2–0 1–1 3–1 1–1 2–2 —
Source: Belgian Pro League (in Dutch)
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

    Championship play-offs

    The points obtained during the regular season were halved (and rounded up) before the start of the playoff. As a result, the teams started with the following points before the playoff: Genk 32 points, Club Brugge 28, Standard Liège 27, Anderlecht 26, Gent 25 and Antwerp 25. The points of Genk, Standard Liège, Anderlecht and Antwerp were rounded up, therefore in case of any ties on points at the end of the playoffs, the half point will be deducted for these teams.

    League table
    Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification GNK CLU STA ANT GNT AND
    1 Genk (C) 10 6 2 2 19 8 +11 52 Qualification for the Champions League group stage — 3–1 0–0 4–0 2–1 3–0
    2 Club Brugge 10 7 1 2 19 11 +8 50 Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round 3–2 — 4–0 3–2 3–0 1–0
    3 Standard Liège 10 4 1 5 17 16 +1 40 Qualification for the Europa League group stage 1–3 2–0 — 3–1 2–3 5–0 FF[lower-alpha 1]
    4 Antwerp (O) 10 4 2 4 12 16 −4 39 Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round[lower-alpha 2] 1–0 0–0 2–1 — 1–2 1–1
    5 Gent[lower-alpha 3] 10 3 1 6 10 15 −5 35 Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round 0–1 0–1 1–2 1–2 — 2–1
    6 Anderlecht 10 1 3 6 8 19 −11 32 1–1 2–3 2–1 1–2 0–0 —
    Source: Sport.be
    Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points without (possible) half points added due to rounding; 3) Position obtained during the Regular season[27]
    (C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner.
    Notes:
    1. Match was abandoned near the end of the first half as Anderlecht supporters had been throwing flares and smoke bombs on the pitch. At that time Standard was leading 2–0.[25] A few weeks later Anderlecht was fined 5.000 Euro and forced to play one match behind closed doors, with the match result set to a 5–0 win for Standard.[26]
    2. After the season, 2018–19 Belgian Cup winners KV Mechelen were found guilty of match-fixing as part of the 2017–18 Belgian football fraud investigation, allowing Standard Liège to enter in the group stage instead of the third qualifying round, the fourth-placed team of the league, Royal Antwerp, entered the third qualifying round instead of the second qualifying round, and the second qualifying round berth was given to the fifth-placed team of the league, Gent. This decision is subject to appeal.
    3. As highest finisher not already qualified, Gent was awarded the spot in the second qualifying round of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League which came up after the barring of KV Mechelen.

    Europa League play-offs

    Group A of the play-offs consist of the teams finishing in positions 7, 9, 12 and 14 during the regular season and the first and third placed team in the qualifying positions in the 2018–19 Belgian First Division B. The teams finishing in positions 8, 10, 11, 13 and 15 were joined by the second placed qualifier from the 2018–19 Belgian First Division B in group B.

    Group A
    Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification CHA STR WES OOS EUP B‑W
    1 Charleroi 10 7 1 2 20 7 +13 22 Qualification for the Europa League play-off semi-final — 2–0 2–0 1–2 2–0 4–0
    2 Sint-Truiden 10 4 5 1 16 13 +3 17 3–1 — 2–1 1–0 2–2 2–2
    3 Westerlo 10 3 3 4 13 12 +1 12 0–2 2–2 — 0–0 1–0 1–1
    4 Oostende 10 3 3 4 12 15 −3 12 2–2 1–1 0–3 — 1–2 2–1
    5 Eupen 10 3 2 5 9 15 −6 11 0–1 1–1 0–3 3–2 — 1–0
    6 Beerschot Wilrijk 10 2 2 6 11 19 −8 8 0–3 1–2 3–2 1–2 2–0 —
    Updated to match(es) played on completed. Source:
    Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Away matches won; 7) Play-off.[24]

    Group B
    Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification KVK USG W‑B ZWA EXM CER
    1 Kortrijk 10 8 0 2 26 12 +14 24 Qualification for the Europa League play-off semi-final — 0–1 2–1 4–2 3–1 4–0
    2 Union SG 10 6 2 2 24 14 +10 20 2–0 — 5–1 2–2 3–3 3–1
    3 Waasland-Beveren 10 4 1 5 17 24 −7 13 2–3 3–2 — 0–5 2–1 2–1
    4 Zulte Waregem 10 3 4 3 22 22 0 13 0–5 2–1 0–0 — 2–2 6–2
    5 Excel Mouscron 10 2 2 6 19 22 −3 8 2–3 0–2 2–4 3–0 — 2–3
    6 Cercle Brugge 10 2 1 7 16 30 −14 7 1–2 2–3 3–2 3–3 0–3 —
    Source:
    Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away goals scored; 6) Away matches won; 7) Play-off.[24]

    Semi-final

    The winners of both play-off groups competed in one match to play the fourth-placed team of the championship play-offs for a spot in the final. This match was played on the field of the highest ranked team in the regular competition. Charleroi advanced to the final to play for a spot in the second qualifying round of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League.

    Kortrijk1–2Charleroi
    		 Report
    Attendance: 7,500
    Referee: Jonathan Lardot

    Final

    The winner of the Europa League play-off semi-final and the fourth-placed team of the championship play-offs played one match to determine the Europa League play-off winner. Antwerp qualified for the third qualifying round of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League.

    Antwerp3–2Charleroi
    		 Report
    Attendance: 11,502
    Referee: Nicolas Laforge

    Number of teams by provinces
    Number of teams Province or region Team(s)
    5  West FlandersCercle Brugge, Club Brugge, Kortrijk, Oostende and Zulte Waregem
    3  East FlandersGent, Lokeren and Waasland-Beveren
    2  HainautCharleroi and Excel Mouscron
     LiègeEupen and Standard Liège
     LimburgGenk and Sint-Truiden
    1  AntwerpAntwerp
     BrusselsAnderlecht

    Season statistics

    Top scorers
    As of matches played on 17 May 2019.[28]
    Rank Player Club Goals
    1 Hamdi Harbaoui Zulte Waregem 25
    2 Mbwana Samatta Genk 23
    3 Ivan Santini Anderlecht 16
    Victor Osimhen Charleroi
    5 Daichi Kamada Sint-Truiden 15
    Felipe Avenatti Kortrijk
    7 Leandro Trossard Genk 14
    Theo Bongonda Zulte Waregem
    Hans Vanaken Club Brugge
    10 Ruslan Malinovskyi Genk 13

    Top assists
    As of matches played on 17 May 2019.[29]
    Rank Player Club Assists
    1 Hans Vanaken Club Brugge 16
    2 Ruslan Malinovskyi Genk 11
    3 Nill De Pauw Zulte Waregem 9
    Aleksandar Boljević Waasland-Beveren
    5 Manuel Benson Excel Mouscron 8
    Gianni Bruno Cercle Brugge
    Theo Bongonda Zulte Waregem
    Wesley Club Brugge
    Razvan Marin Standard Liège

    Clean sheets
    As of matches played on 17 May 2019.[30]
    Rank Player Club Clean sheets
    1 Danny Vukovic Genk 14
    2 Sinan Bolat Antwerp 13
    3 Ethan Horvath Club Brugge 11
    4 Jean Butez Excel Mouscron 9
    Thomas Didillon Anderlecht
    Guillermo Ochoa Standard Liège
    7 Thomas Kaminski Kortrijk / Gent 8
    8 Nicolas Penneteau Charleroi 7
    9 Hendrik Van Crombrugge Eupen 6
    10 Ortwin De Wolf Lokeren 5

    Notes
    1. The announcement of De Roeck being replaced was made on 20 April 2018, together with the news he would complete the season.
    2. Verheyen was announced as manager on 25 April 2018 but only replaced Adnan Čustović after the final match of the season.
    3. The announcement of Viðarsson being replaced was made on 29 October 2018, but he remained in charge for the match against Anderlecht on 1 November, with Sollied taking over only the day after.

    References
    1. "Marc Brys wordt maandag voorgesteld als coach van STVV" [Marc Brys to be presented Monday as new coach of STVV] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2018-05-19. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
    2. "Verheyen en Van der Elst vormen nieuwe trainerstandem van KV Oostende" [Verheyen and Van der Elst to become new coaching duo of KV Oostende] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2018-04-27. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
    3. "Fransman Guyot moet Cercle Brugge in 1e klasse A houden" [Frenchman Guyot to keep Cercle Brugge in 1st division A] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2018-06-06.
    4. "Officieel: Michel Preud'homme wordt opnieuw coach van Standard" [Official: Michel Preud'homme becomes manager of Standard again] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2018-05-23.
    5. "Yannick Ferrera: "Waasland-Beveren is een zeer ambitieuze club"" [Yannick Ferrera: "Waasland-Beveren is a very ambitious club"] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2018-06-08.
    6. "Verlies tegen Eupen is druppel: Moeskroen stuurt Defays weg" [Loss against Eupen is last straw breaking camel's back: Mouscron sends Defays away] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2018-08-30.
    7. "Duitser Bernd Storck (55) moet Moeskroen redden" [German Bernd Storck (55) to save Mouscron] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2018-09-02.
    8. "Geen verrassing: Vanderhaeghe betaalt het gelag bij AA Gent" [No surprise: Vanderhaeghe pays the piper at AA Gent] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2018-10-08.
    9. "JESS THORUP NIEUWE COACH KAA GENT" [JESS THORUP NEW COACH KAA GENT] (in Dutch). kaagent.be. 2018-10-10.
    10. "Peter Maes moet opstappen bij Sporting Lokeren" [Peter Maes has to leave Sporting Lokeren] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2018-10-28.
    11. "Trond Sollied volgt Peter Maes op bij Lokeren" [Trond Sollied succeeds Peter Maes at Lokeren] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2018-10-29.
    12. "Einde verhaal voor Ferrera bij Waasland-Beveren na verlies tegen Cercle" [Ferrera no longer Coach from Waasland-Beveren after loss against Cercle] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2018-11-11.
    13. "Adnan Custovic moet Waasland-Beveren in eerste klasse A houden" [Adnan Custovic to keep Waasland-Beveren in first division A] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2018-11-17.
    14. "Kortrijk zet trainer De Boeck op straat: "Zo snel mogelijk nieuwe hoofdtrainer aanstellen"" [Kortrijk sacks manager De Boeck: "Appoint new manager as soon as possible"] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2018-11-15.
    15. "Vanderhaeghe begint aan 2e ambtstermijn bij Kortrijk: "Welcome home"" [Vanderhaeghe starts 2nd term at Kortrijk: "Welcome home"] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2018-11-15.
    16. "Anderlecht zet de samenwerking met Vanhaezebrouck stop" [Anderlecht ends cooperation with Vanhaezebrouck] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2018-12-16.
    17. "Anderlecht trekt met Fred Rutten als nieuwe coach op stage" [Anderlecht departs for summer camp with Fred Rutten as new coach] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2019-01-06.
    18. "Lokeren ontslaat Sollied en T2 Vidarsson, De Boeck neemt over" [Lokeren sacks Sollied and T2 Vidarsson, De Boeck takes over] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2019-01-20.
    19. "Verheyen stopt als coach van Oostende, Broos neemt voorlopig over" [Verheyen quits as manager of Oostende, Broos caretaker] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2019-03-06.
    20. "Anderlecht neemt afscheid van coach Fred Rutten" [Anderlecht says goodbye to coach Fred Rutten] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2019-04-16.
    21. "Anderlecht na vertrek van Rutten: "Belhocine is hoofdcoach"" [Anderlecht following Rutten departure: "Belhocine head coach"] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2019-04-16.
    22. "Broos doet het seizoen niet uit bij KV Oostende, Van der Elst neemt over" [Broos won't finish the season at KV Oostende, Van der Elst takes over] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2019-04-29.
    23. "Cercle Brugge en coach Guyot zetten samenwerking met onmiddellijke ingang stop" [Cercle Brugge and coach Guyot end cooperation immediately] (in Dutch). sporza.be. 2019-05-02.
    24. "Belgian First Division A 2018/2019". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
    25. "Standard-Anderlecht nog voor de rust afgeblazen na paars-witte vuurpijlen" [Standard-Anderlecht abandoned before half time following purple-white flares] (in Dutch). Sporza.be. 12 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
    26. "Anderlecht kent straf: match achter gesloten deuren, 5.000 euro boete en forfaitnederlaag" [Anderlecht knows punishment: match behind closed doors, 5.000 Euro fine and forfait loss] (in Dutch). Sporza.be. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
    27. "Reglement 2018-2019 Boek B: De koepelorganisatie KBVB en haar deelorganisaties" [General Rules 2018-2019 Book B: The overall organisation KBVB and its subsidiaries] (PDF) (in Dutch). Royal Belgian FA. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
    28. "Jupiler Pro League Top Scorer". Retrieved 30 March 2019.
    29. "Jupiler Pro League Top Assists". Retrieved 30 March 2019.
    30. "Jupiler Pro League Clean Sheets". Retrieved 4 March 2019.
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