In the knockout stage of the Europa League, Anderlecht will play their second match against Belarusian side Dinamo Minsk. If Anderlecht wins this match, they will secure a spot in the League Phase, the new concept for the competition phase of the Europa League. Read all about this crucial match in this article.
Europa League
The UEFA Europa League is the second most important international football tournament for clubs in Europe. The tournament has existed since 1971 but has been known as the Europa League since 2009. Before that, it was called the UEFA Cup or European Cup II. The record holder with the most titles is Sevilla, with 7 titles. However, Sevilla will not have the chance to prove themselves in the tournament this year, as they finished only 14th in Spain’s La Liga. The club will remain the record holder for a while, as the closest competitor, Inter Milan, has only 3 victories. The top scorer in this competition is Sweden’s Henrik Larsson, who scored 40 goals for Feyenoord, Celtic, and Helsingborgs.
The current Europa League titleholder is Atalanta. In the final, the Italians defeated Leverkusen, who up until that point had only lost one match in all competitions. Among others, Belgian Red Devil Charles De Ketelaere helped secure Atalanta’s 3-0 victory with a hat-trick from Ademola Lookman. On their way to the final, Atalanta also defeated Liverpool and Marseille.
Anderlecht
Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht was founded on May 27, 1908, and is registered with the Belgian Football Association under the matricule number 35. The club’s colors are purple and white, and they play their home matches at Lotto Park. RSCA has been playing in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League since 1935. They have won the national title 34 times, making them the most successful Belgian club. Anderlecht has also won the Belgian Cup nine times and the Belgian Supercup ten times. In European competitions, Anderlecht has also performed well, winning the European Cup II twice, the UEFA Super Cup twice, and the UEFA Cup once.
This year, Anderlecht is trying their luck in the Europa League. After the first match on the road in Hungary, Anderlecht starts this week’s home match with a one-goal lead. Although that doesn’t mean much yet, as a lead can be easily erased, the Brussels side will have a slight mental advantage.
Danish coach Brian Riemer has been at Anderlecht’s helm since December 2022. He aims to take Anderlecht far and nearly succeeded in becoming national champions last year. His main goal now is to stay in the Europa League for as long as possible and avoid dropping down to the Conference League. Last year, he led Anderlecht to second place in the JPL and the quarterfinals of the Conference League.
Last year, it was Anders Dreyer who scored the most goals, helping Anderlecht get this far: the Dane scored 21 goals across all competitions. He is closely followed by Kasper Dolberg, who netted 15. The latter has already proven his worth, as Anderlecht managed to buy him from OGC Nice for just €5 million. It’s high time for Anders Dreyer to find his good form again, as he hasn’t scored or assisted in Anderlecht’s last five matches.
Dinamo Minsk
FK Dinamo Minsk was founded in 1927 and plays its home matches at the Traktor Stadium in Minsk. Due to the war in Ukraine, they are temporarily playing their home games in Hungary. After Belarus gained independence in 1991, Dinamo Minsk became the most dominant team in the country, but in 1997, they faced more competition. It wasn’t until 2004 that they were able to win the title again. In total, they have won the Belarusian championship 8 times and the Belarusian Cup 3 times.
Internationally, they have not yet achieved much success: Dinamo Minsk has participated in the Champions League four times, the Europa League eleven times, and the Conference League twice, but they have never won. This year, they are trying their luck in the Europa League after being eliminated from the Champions League by Ludogorets. In their domestic league, Dinamo Minsk finished in first place last year.
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