Up until Friday, both OH Leuven and Beerschot Wilrijk were set to face each other in a winner-takes-all promotion decider, with the away side taking a slender advantage into the second leg. However, the Belgian football authorities, in agreement with the clubs, decided to extend the Belgian Pro League to 18 teams for the 2020/21 season, effectively promoting both sides. Instead of battling it out for promotion, both sides were now just playing for the right to be named second tier champions.
Both sides have links to the EPL, with Leuven being owned by Leicester City and Beerschot being linked to Sheffield United. Leicester now have an even better league in which to loan out and develop young talent, before selling them on for big money to the likes of Manchester United.
With promotion guaranteed, both teams went into this game without as much pressure. Leuven had changed manager since the last match back in March, with Vincent Euvrard being replaced by former Beerschot manager Marc Brys. Beerschot had kept young manager and former player Hernan Losada, who tactically out thought Euvrard in the first leg. Once again, he won the battle in the second leg as well.
This tactical analysis, in the form of a match report, will look at how Losada’s tactics once again led to a victory. The analysis will look at how Leuven attempted to change their approach in the second leg, as well as how Beerschot were not afraid to push forward and look for more goals.
Lineups
Leuven deployed a 4-5-1 formation, which was different from the 3-4-2-1 they had used in the first match. Leading league and club scorer Thomas Henry was the lone striker, with creative midfielder Mathieu Maertens deployed as a right winger rather than as the left central midfielder. Impressive defensive midfielder from the first leg, Aboubakar Keita, was replaced by Pierre-Yves Ngawa. Experienced South African international keeper Darren Keet also came in between the sticks.
Beerschot, on the other hand, converted their 3-5-2 into a 5-3-2, with Gregory Grisez and Joren Dom operating in a more defensive position than they had in the first leg. Apart from that it was the same side that had won the first leg.
