Belgian First Division A 2020/21: Genk vs OH Leuven – tactical analysis

With the Belgian First Division A recently starting its 2020/2021 campaign, it is vital that each team gets off to a bright start. Champions in recent seasons, Genk, finished in a disappointing 7th place last season. Hoping to push for the UEFA Champions League and beyond, Genk wanted to start the season with two wins in two matches.  The match in question saw Genk face recently promoted OH Leuven. OH Leuven, who have the same owners as Leicester City in the EPL, are an unknown quantity for many Belgian First Division A teams, players and fans, but started their top-flight campaign with a respectable draw against KAS Eupen.

Despite the perceived quality difference between the teams, this match was not an easy match we commonly see between established and newly promoted teams in European leagues such as the Bundesliga, La Liga or other European leagues.  The match finished 1-1 and while a draw was fair, the match could have gone either way, with many interesting tactical ploys from both teams. This tactical analysis will break the match down into various game moments to provide analysis and insights into the tactics utilised by each team.

Line-ups

On paper, Genk lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, while OH Leuven opted for a 3-5-1-1. However, both teams were rarely in such a formation, with possession sequences, offensive and defensive transitions and out of possession moments dictating how each team set up to break down the opponent or nullify attacks. Such complexities will be discussed in each relevant section.

Overview

Generally, the match was played in two parts. The first part saw Genk dominating the ball, with OH Leuven happy for Genk to carry the ball with little pressure before engaging. OH Leuven played on the counter-attack, created the clearest openings in the first half and repeatedly looked dangerous by beating Genks initial high press when they lost the ball. While Genk had the possession and the territory, their shots were from low-quality positions in general. Genk took the lead after a wonder strike from Junya Ito, capitalising on a lack of ball engagement on the edge of the box, but again, Genk were not cutting OH Leuvens low block open. Genk took the lead, but, Leuven had the right game plan to stay in the game, nullify big chance creation and cause problems on the break.

After the opening goal, midway through the second half, the game switched into part two. OH Leuven took up a much higher line, pressed higher and offered more options on the ball for progressive play by committing more players forward. This opened the game up, with both teams playing a similar way after OH Leuvens main plan in part one was to stay in the game and threaten on the counter. If this was the style of the game from the offset, the quality of Genk would have likely been too much for the newly-promoted team. Instead, when they chose to switch OH Leuven threatened more from possession sequences and managed to get the equaliser. From then, both teams went for the win and in truth, the game could have gone either way.

Overall, while