Antwerp 2–1 SK Beveren | Pro League | 09 August 2026

Result Summary

Antwerp secured a hard-fought home victory over SK Beveren at the Bosuilstadion, coming from behind to claim all three points with a Michael Frey brace in the second half. SK Beveren had threatened to leave with something after taking an early lead, but Frey's clinical finishing ultimately proved the difference in a competitive Pro League encounter.

Match Analysis

The opening exchanges suggested this would be a closely contested affair, and the statistics bore that out. Possession was evenly split at 50% each, and both sides generated consistent attacking threat — Antwerp registered 125 attacks to Beveren's 123, highlighting just how competitive the match was across the full ninety minutes.

The first meaningful moment came in the 29th minute, when SK Beveren broke the deadlock. Chris Lokesa finished with his right foot, converting an assist from Christian Brüls to give the visitors the lead. Lokesa did pick up a yellow card in the same minute — a detail that added an edge to what had already been a physical spell of play. Beveren's Sieben Dewaele was also cautioned before the break for a foul, suggesting Tim Bakens' side were walking a disciplinary tightrope.

Antwerp head coach Faris Haroun made two changes at half-time — bringing on Carlos Daniel Mejia Klinger and Luca Schelfhout — and the introduction of fresh legs appeared to reinvigorate the home side. Despite their dominance in attempts (19 total shots to Beveren's 10, with 7 on target to Beveren's 4), it wasn't until the 62nd minute that the equaliser arrived. Michael Frey latched onto an assist from Jules Ahoka Jules and converted via a right-foot effort to level the tie.

Antwerp then pushed for a winner and were rewarded in the 86th minute when Frey struck again — this time assisted by Thibo Somers — completing his brace and flipping the result in Antwerp's favour. The closing stages grew fractious: Jearl Margaritha, Christian Brüls, Luca Schelfhout, and Anthony Lenin Valencia Bajaña all received yellow cards in the final stages, reflecting the tension of a match that had swung decisively late on. Antwerp's 14 key passes to Beveren's 8 underlined their creative superiority, even if they needed until late to find the winning touch.

Prediction Review

Our pre-match forecast of a 1–1 draw did not hold up. With a confidence rating of just 48/100, there was genuine uncertainty built into the analysis, and the model's home-win probability of 44% acknowledged Antwerp's potential — but a draw was still seen as the most likely single outcome. In the end, Frey's second-half heroics overturned both the scoreline and our forecast. The evenly matched statistics in the first half arguably justified caution in predicting a home win, but Antwerp's greater shot volume and key pass output hinted at an underlying attacking edge that the model perhaps underweighted.

Key Takeaways

• Michael Frey was the decisive figure, turning a 1–0 deficit into a 2–1 win with two second-half goals.
• SK Beveren showed genuine fight but were undone by late-game quality from the hosts.
• Antwerp's second-half substitutions — particularly the introduction of Schelfhout and Mejia Klinger — appeared to shift momentum meaningfully.
• Five yellow cards in and around the final ten minutes highlighted how competitive and combative this Pro League fixture became.
• For Beveren, Christian Brüls contributed an assist before being cautioned late — a mixed evening capping a game that slipped away in the final minutes.