Belgian First Division A 2020/21: Gent vs Beerschot – tactical analysis

The Belgian Pro League is just seven matchdays in and we already have had some surprising results and performances from teams that werent expected to perform as well as they are at the moment. One of those teams is Beerschot. Under Hernán Losada Beerschot stand in the fourth position by winning against the likes of Genk and the champions Club Brugge.

Gent, on the other hand, have had a rather disappointing start to the season. After the sacking of Laszlo Bölöni, Wim De Decker was promoted from assistant coach to the full responsibilities. After some discouraging results and a Champions League deficit, De Decker’s men were looking to make an end to this bad run.

In this tactical analysis, we will look at the tactics both coaches implemented in order to win the game. This analysis will give a more detailed look into the game.

Lineups and formations

Home side Gent went for a 4-4-2 formation, with experienced keeper Sinan Bolat between the sticks. Milad Mohammadi was the left-back, while Alessio Castro-Montes was the right-back. The defensive partnership in the middle was Igor Plastun Michael and Ngadeu-Ngadjui. In front of them were the pair of Sulayman Marreh and former Bayern Munich midfielder Niklas Bernd Dorsch, with Anderson Niangbo on the right and Osman Bukari on the left. Former Premier League striker Laurent Depoitre partnered Roman Yaremchuk upfront.

Beerschot stuck with their 3-5-2 formation, with Mike Vanhamel in goal. The back three was made up of Pierre Bourdin, Joren Dom and Frederic Frans. Reda Halaimia was the right wing-back, with Yan Vorogovskiy on the opposite side. Ismaila Coulibaly and Ryan Sanusi were playing alongside Beerschots talisman Raphael Holzhauser, who is Beerschot’s top scorer and assist provider so far. Japanese international Musashi Suzuki got his first start up front alongside Tarik Tissoudali.

Gent’s pressing trap

When facing Beerschot this season, keeping Holzhauser quiet is key to having any chance. He is a difficult man for defences to deal with because he is given a free role by head coach Losada. The Austrian is allowed to drift in and out of spaces on the left-hand side, sometimes dropping deep into his own half, other times being right up next to the forwards. The image below shows how Gent looked to deal with keeping him quiet.