And suddenly, Club Brugge are back in the race
Club Brugge had received a blow 9 days ago, losing 2-0 in Anderlecht in what was considered as a big test after a poor start by the Bruges team. Anderlecht knocked their rivals right against the canvas, but two home matches later - against the most modest teams in this round-robin competition with the league's best 6 teams - Club Brugge are alive and kicking again, underlining they don't give up their title hopes yet.
After beating KV Oostende, Bruges went on to down Cup winners Zulte Waregem yesterday. But most attention went to referee Alexandre Boucaut in that game: he forgot to exclude a player after a wild tackle, did not give a penalty to Bruges and disallowed a goal by Zulte for a very light foul.
AA Gent see title hopes fade away
By beating Zulte Waregem, Club Brugge drew the maximum benefit from Anderlecht's tied game against AA Gent on Sunday. Gent were unable to find their best form, missing a couple of key players in midfield, and missing power in the central midfield with both Renato Neto and Anderson Esiti absent. Their places were taken by Brecht Dejaegere and Danijel Milicevic, whose presence was next missed in attack.
While Anderlecht had the best chances after the break, they were happy with a draw as the worst case scenario, a defeat, had been avoided. AA Gent goalkeeper Lovere Kalinic (photo below) managed to hold another clean sheet.
KV Oostende celebrate their first victory
KV Oostende, still chasing their dream of competing in the Europa League next season, held on to their last hopes by beating Sporting Charleroi 1-0, a penalty goal by Sébastien Siani.