Published
2025-09-01
Union prevails in Brussels derby
Union were eager to bounce back after last week’s draw against La Louvière. In the Brussels derby, the Unionists struck early through a penalty. Anderlecht threatened several times but couldn’t find the net. After the break, Anderlecht was reduced to nine men within two minutes. Eventually, David sealed the victory with a late strike to make it 2-0.
It was a dream start for Union. In just the 2nd minute, Niang picked up the ball after a clever flick from Florucz. As he drove into the box, he was brought down by Degreef: penalty for Union. Florucz made no mistake from the spot: 1-0.
Anderlecht grew into the game and created their first chance in the 13th minute, but the better opportunities still fell to Union with efforts from Sykes and Ait El Hadj.
On the half-hour mark, Anderlecht almost equalised. Thorgan Hazard went one-on-one with Scherpen, but the Union keeper saved brilliantly with his right foot. A few minutes later, Vazquez found the net with a header, but it was ruled out for offside.
Both sides had chances before the break. Sykes hit the post from a tight angle and Zorgane fired wide, while Anderlecht came even closer: Khalaili cleared Degreef’s shot off the line, and Huerta rattled the post moments later.
The second half was more scrappy, with little attacking fluency. But in the 81st minute the game exploded: Anderlecht went down to nine men after Saliba and Angulo both received second yellow cards within two minutes.
In stoppage time, substitute Promise David put the result beyond doubt. Released in behind by Sykes, the Canadian forward kept his composure in a one-on-one with the goalkeeper to slot home the 2-0. With this win, Union return to the top of the table, level on points with Sint-Truiden.