Genk kicked off the Champions’ Playoffs in ideal fashion with a resounding victory over Gent (4-0) on Sunday. Despite a frustrating start marked by two missed penalties and a disallowed goal, the Limburg team found the net thanks to a stunning curled left-footed strike from Konstantinos Karetsas (38th minute), who was perfectly assisted by Zakaria El Ouahdi. The Moroccan U23 international recorded his first assist in these playoffs and now boasts a tally of five goals and two assists across all competitions this season. Positioned as a right-back, he delivered a solid performance before being substituted in the 86th minute for Ken Nkuba Tshiend.
In the second half, Tolu Arokodare extended the lead (50th), and Hyeon-Gyu Ho sealed the victory with a brace late in the match (89th, 90+1). Thanks to this win, Genk maintains a four-point lead over Club Brugge, who earlier defeated Anderlecht (2-0). Union Saint-Gilloise, who thrashed Antwerp (5-1) on Saturday, remains third, six points behind the leader. Meanwhile, Gent remains stagnant in sixth place with 23 points, trailing Anderlecht (26) and Antwerp (23).
