2023–24 Royal Antwerp F.C. season

The 2023–24 season is Royal Antwerp Sporting Club's 144th season in existence and seventh consecutive in the Belgian Pro League. They are also competing in the Belgian Cup, the Belgian Super Cup and the UEFA Champions League,the latter they'll compete for the first time.

Royal Antwerp F.C.
2023–24 season
ManagerMark van Bommel
StadiumBosuilstadion
Pro League4th
Belgian CupPre-season
Belgian Super CupWinners
UEFA Champions LeagueGroup stage
Top goalscorerLeague: Vincent Janssen (4)
All: Vincent Janssen (5)

Players

First-team squad
As of 11 September 2023

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK France FRA Jean Butez
2 DF Belgium BEL Ritchie De Laet
3 DF Belgium BEL Björn Engels
5 DF Netherlands NED Owen Wijndal (on loan from AFC Ajax)
7 FW Netherlands NED Gyrano Kerk (on loan from Lokomotiv Moscow)
8 MF Nigeria NGA Alhassan Yusuf
9 FW Nigeria NGA George Ilenikhena
10 FW Belgium BEL Michel-Ange Balikwisha
11 FW Kosovo KOS Arbnor Muja
17 FW Sweden SWE Jacob Ondrejka
18 FW Netherlands NED Vincent Janssen
19 FW Nigeria NGA Chidera Ejuke (on loan from CSKA Moscow)
21 DF United States USA Sam Vines
23 DF Belgium BEL Toby Alderweireld (captain)
No. Pos. Nation Player
24 MF Netherlands NED Jurgen Ekkelenkamp
26 GK Belgium BEL Ortwin De Wolf
27 MF Belgium BEL Mandela Keita (on loan from OH Leuven)
33 DF Belgium BEL Zeno Van den Bosch
34 DF Belgium BEL Jelle Bataille
44 DF France FRA Soumaïla Coulibaly (on loan from Borussia Dortmund)
48 MF Belgium BEL Arthur Vermeeren
55 FW Ecuador ECU Anthony Valencia
87 GK Belgium BEL Davino Verhulst
91 GK Belgium BEL Senne Lammens
99 FW Switzerland SUI Michael Frey
— MF Niger NIG Mamane Moustapha Amadou Sabo (on loan from Hammarby IF)
— MF Mali MLI Mahamadou Doumbia
— DF Belgium BEL Dorian Dessoleil

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
30 MF Germany GER Christopher Scott (at Hannover 96)
50 DF Kosovo KOS Laurit Krasniqi (at Roda JC Kerkrade)
80 MF Belgium BEL Pierre Dwomoh (at RWDM)

Transfers

In
Pos. Player Transferred from Fee Date Source
MF Mali Mahamadou Doumbia Mali JMG Academy Bamako Undisclosed 6 September 2023
DF Netherlands Owen Wijndal Netherlands AFC Ajax On loan 5 September 2023
DF Niger Mamane Moustapha Amadou Sabo Sweden Hammarby IF On loan 24 August 2023
DF France Soumaïla Coulibaly Germany Borussia Dortmund On loan 11 August 2023
MF Belgium Mandela Keita Belgium OH Leuven On loan 10 August 2023
FW Nigeria Chidera Ejuke Russia CSKA Moscow On loan 30 July 2023
FW Netherlands Gyrano Kerk Russia FC Lokomotiv Moscow On loan 5 July 2023
FW Nigeria George Ilenikhena France Amiens € 6,000,000 1 July 2023
GK Belgium Senne Lammens Belgium Club Brugge Free 1 July 2023 [1]
FW Sweden Jacob Ondrejka Sweden Elfsborg € 1,700,000 1 July 2023 [2]

Out
Pos. Player Transferred to Fee Date Source
MF Belgium Birger Verstraete Greece Aris Thessaloniki Undisclosed 11 September 2023
MF Cameroon Frank Boya France Amiens SC € 3,000,000 1 September 2023
DF Argentina Gastón Ávila Netherlands AFC Ajax € 12,500,000 22 August 2023
FW Denmark Viktor Fischer Contract terminated 30 June 2023
DF Ecuador Willian Pacho Germany Eintracht Frankfurt € 9,000,000
MF Belgium Alexis De Sart Belgium RWDM € 500,000
FW Japan Koji Miyoshi England Birmingham City End of contract
MF Belgium Pieter Gerkens Belgium AA Gent
MF Belgium Faris Haroun Retired
Notes

    Pre-season and friendlies

    The team will start preparations with a test match versus second-tier side Lierse on 1 July behind closed doors.[3]

    1 July 2023 Friendly Antwerp Belgium 1–1 Belgium Lierse Kempenzonen Antwerp, Belgium
    11:30
    • Ilenikhena 66' (pen.)
    		Stadium: Bosuilstadion
    Attendance: 0
    8 July 2023 Friendly Antwerp Belgium 0–3 Greece AEK Athens Antwerp, Belgium
    13:45
    		Stadium: Bosuilstadion
    Attendance: 0
    Note: Four periods of 30 minutes.
    16 July 2023 Friendly Antwerp Belgium 1–0 Germany Hertha BSC Saalfelden (Austria)
    		 Stadium: 1508 Saalfelden Arena
    Attendance: 0

    Competitions

    Overall record
    Competition First match Last match Starting round Final position Record
    Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
    Belgian Pro League 28 July 2023 26 May 2024 Matchday 1 11 4 5 2 19 8 +11 036.36
    Belgian Cup TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 !—
    Belgian Super Cup 23 July 2023 Winners 1 0 1 0 1 1 +0 000.00
    UEFA Champions League 22 August 2023 Play-off round 5 2 0 3 6 13 −7 040.00
    Total 17 6 6 5 26 22 +4 035.29

    Last updated: 25 October 2023
    Source: Soccerway

    Belgian Pro League
    Main article: 2023–24 Belgian Pro League

    League table

    Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
    4 Cercle Brugge 11 6 0 5 13 11 +2 18 Play-off I
    5 Genk 11 4 6 1 20 10 +10 18
    6 Antwerp 11 4 5 2 19 8 +11 17
    7 Club Brugge 11 4 4 3 23 12 +11 16 Play-off II
    8 Standard Liège 11 4 4 3 13 11 +2 16
    Updated to match(es) played on 22 October 2023. Source: Jupiler Pro League (in Dutch), Soccerway
    Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away matches won; 6) Away goal difference; 7) Away goals scored; 8) Play-off.[4]

    Results summary
    OverallHomeAway
    PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
    11 4 5 2 19 8  +11 17 3 3 0 11 1  +10 1 2 2 8 7  +1

    Last updated: 21 October 2023.
    Source:

    Results by round
    Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
    GroundHAHAHAAHAHAAHHAHAHHAHAAHAHAHAH
    ResultWLWDDDWDDWL
    Position48455856546
    Source:
    A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

    Matches

    The league fixtures were announced on 22 June 2023.[5]

    30 July 2023 1 Antwerp 1–0 Cercle Brugge Antwerp
    13:30 CEST (UTC+2)
    		Report
    		Stadium: Bosuilstadion
    Attendance: 12,277
    Referee: Jonathan Lardot
    6 August 2023 2 Anderlecht 1–0 Antwerp Anderlecht
    13:30 CEST (UTC+2)
    		Report
    		Stadium: Lotto Park
    Referee: Jasper Vergoote
    11 August 2023 3 Antwerp 6–0 Kortrijk Antwerp
    20:45 CEST (UTC+2)
    		Report
    		Stadium: Bosuilstadion
    Attendance: 15,447
    Referee: Jan Boterberg
    18 August 2023 4 OH Leuven 1–1 Antwerp Leuven
    20:45 CEST (UTC+2)
    		Report
    		Stadium: Den Dreef
    Attendance: 6,595
    Referee: Lawrence Visser
    3 September 2023 6 Union Saint-Gilloise 2–2 Antwerp Saint-Gilles
    16:00 CEST (UTC+2)
    		Report
    		Stadium: Joseph Marien Stadium
    Attendance: 6,890
    Referee: Jan Boterberg
    15 September 2023 7 Westerlo 0–3 Antwerp Westerlo
    20:45 CEST (UTC+2)
    		Report
    		Stadium: Het Kuipje
    Attendance: 7,300
    Referee: Lothar D'hondt
    23 September 2023 8 Antwerp 0–0 RWD Molenbeek Antwerp
    20:45 CEST (UTC+2) Report
    		Stadium: Bosuilstadion
    Attendance: 12,682
    Referee: Wim Smet
    27 September 2023 5 Antwerp 0–0 Gent Antwerp
    20:45 CEST (UTC+2)
    		Stadium: Bosuilstadion
    Attendance: 13,077
    Referee: Nicolas Laforge
    Note: The match scheduled for 26 August 2023 was postponed due to the UEFA Champions League play-offs.
    30 September 2023 9 KV Mechelen 0–0 Antwerp Mechelen
    20:45 CEST (UTC+2)
    		Stadium: Achter de Kazerne
    Attendance: 14,963
    Referee: Jan Boterberg
    8 October 2023 10 Antwerp 4–1 Eupen Antwerp
    16:00 CEST (UTC+2)
    		Stadium: Bosuilstadion
    Attendance: 12,100
    Referee: Bram Van Driessche
    21 October 2023 11 Charleroi 3–2 Antwerp Charleroi
    20:45 CEST (UTC+2)
    		Stadium: Stade du Pays de Charleroi
    Attendance: 7,700
    Referee: Wesli De Cremer
    29 October 2023 12 Club Brugge v Antwerp Bruges
    13:30 CEST (UTC+2) Stadium: Jan Breydel Stadium
    Referee: Bram Van Driessche

    Belgian Cup
    Main article: 2023–24 Belgian Cup
    1 November 2023 Seventh round Lierse Kempenzonen v Antwerp Lier
    15:45 CET (UTC+1) Stadium: Herman Vanderpoortenstadion
    Referee: Laurent Willems

    Belgian Super Cup
    Main article: 2023 Belgian Super Cup
    23 July 2023 Match Antwerp 1–1 (a.e.t.)
    (5–4 p)    		 Mechelen Antwerp
    18:00 CEST (UTC+2)
    		Report
    		Stadium: Bosuilstadion
    Attendance: 16,000
    Referee: Lawrence Visser
    Penalties

    UEFA Champions League
    Main article: 2023–24 UEFA Champions League

    Play-off round
    Main article: 2023–24 UEFA Champions League play-off round

    The draw for the play-off round was held on 7 August 2023.

    22 August 2023 First leg Antwerp Belgium 1–0 Greece AEK Athens Antwerp
    21:00 UTC+2
    		Report
    		Stadium: Bosuilstadion
    Attendance: 13,376
    Referee: François Letexier (France)
    30 August 2023 First leg AEK Athens Greece 1–2
    (1–3 agg.)    		 Belgium Antwerp Athens
    21:00 UTC+2
    		Report
    		Stadium: Agia Sophia Stadium
    Attendance: 29,300
    Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (Spain)

    Group stage

    The draw for the group stage was held on 31 August 2023.

    Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification BAR POR SHK ANT
    1 Spain Barcelona 3 3 0 0 8 1 +7 9 Advance to knockout phase — 28 Nov 2–1 5–0
    2 Portugal Porto 3 2 0 1 7 3 +4 6 0–1 — 13 Dec 7 Nov
    3 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk 3 1 0 2 5 7 −2 3 Transfer to Europa League 7 Nov 1–3 — 28 Nov
    4 Belgium Antwerp 3 0 0 3 3 12 −9 0 13 Dec 1–4 2–3 —
    Updated to match(es) played on 25 October 2023. Source: UEFA
    Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
    19 September 2023 1 Barcelona Spain 5–0 Belgium Antwerp Barcelona
    21:00 CEST (UTC+2)
    		Report Stadium: Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys
    Attendance: 40,989
    Referee: Radu Petrescu (Romania)
    4 October 2023 2 Antwerp Belgium 2–3 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk Antwerp
    18:45 CEST (UTC+2)
    		Report
    		Stadium: Bosuilstadion
    Attendance: 13,509
    Referee: Rade Obrenovič (Slovenia)
    25 October 2023 3 Antwerp Belgium 1–4 Portugal Porto Antwerp
    21:00 CEST (UTC+2)
    		Stadium: Bosuilstadion
    Attendance: 13,651
    Referee: Benoît Bastien (France)
    7 November 2023 4 Porto Portugal v Belgium Antwerp Porto
    21:00 CET (UTC+1) Stadium: Estádio do Dragão
    28 November 2023 5 Shakhtar Donetsk Ukraine v Belgium Antwerp Hamburg (Germany)[6]
    18:45 CET (UTC+1) Stadium: Volksparkstadion
    13 December 2023 6 Antwerp Belgium v Spain Barcelona Antwerp
    21:00 CET (UTC+1) Stadium: Bosuilstadion

    Statistics

    Goalscorers
    As of 25 October 2023
    Rank No. Pos Nat Name First Division A Belgian Cup Champions League Super Cup Total
    1 18 FW Netherlands Vincent Janssen 5 0 1 0 6
    2 10 FW Belgium Michel-Ange Balikwisha 1 0 2 1 4
    11 FW Kosovo Arbnor Muja 3 0 1 0
    4 7 FW Netherlands Gyrano Kerk 1 0 1 0 2
    24 MF Netherlands Jurgen Ekkelenkamp 2 0 0 0
    6 8 MF Nigeria Alhassan Yusuf 0 0 1 0 1
    9 FW Nigeria George Ilenikhena 1 0 0 0
    21 DF United States Sam Vines 1 0 0 0
    34 DF Belgium Jelle Bataille 1 0 0 0
    48 MF Belgium Arthur Vermeeren 1 0 0 0
    Own goals30003
    Totals 19 0 6 1 26

    References
    1. "Antwerp sign former Leeds and Everton target Senne Lammens from Club Brugge on a free". OneFootball. June 10, 2023.
    3. "Lierse oefent tegen landskampioen Antwerp en Qatarese Al-Rayyan". Gazet van Antwerpen. June 7, 2023.
    4. "Bondsreglement Titel 7: Competities" [Association Rules Title 7: Competitions] (PDF). Royal Belgian Football Association. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2020.
    5. "Pro League: Union-Anderlecht en ouverture du championnat, le duel Hoefkens-Deila lors de la 10e journée, le calendrier 2023–2024 dévoilé". 27 June 2023.
    6. Stafford-Bloor, Sebastian (18 August 2023). "Shakhtar Donetsk to play home Champions League games at Hamburg's Volksparkstadion". The Athletic. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
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