Statistics that you cannot ignore, the revival of bench sitters and Brussels opulence: our team from the regular competition – Football News

Every week on Monday we give you a glimpse into our minds when we draw up our team of the week. After thirty match days, we distill a team of ‘All Stars’ from the regular competition from those teams of the week. It is not surprising that this mainly includes players from the top teams in the rankings.

Goalkeeper: Jean Butez’s definitive breakthrough

Arnaud Bodart has single-handedly ensured that Standard does not have to play the play-downs, Warleson has ensured confirmation in goal at Cercle Brugge and Anthony Moris played like a leader at the leader Union SG.

We choose Jean Butez as goalkeeper for the regular competition. He was not always flawless, but he has grown enormously throughout the season and thus ensures peace of mind for Antwerp. The team reached the cup final and also finished the last weeks of the regular competition at an excellent level.

Defense: experience is an asset with the Red Devils

At the back we can’t ignore two absolute rocks with experience. Jan Vertonghen has been the man for RSC Anderlecht for months who takes Zeno Debast by the hand, Toby Alderweireld does the same with Zeno Van Den Bosch at Royal Antwerp.

Both central defenders play with a lot of experience and therefore simply stand out in the Jupiler Pro League, although the two youngsters would not be out of place in the team of the season. Maybe Tedesco should check with Alderweireld about the Red Devils?

Between them we place Tsuyoshi Watanabe, who had an excellent season with KAA Gent and was clearly missed in the weeks he was away due to the Asian Cup. It’s one of the reasons the Buffaloes aren’t in the Champions’ Playoff.

Midfield: revenge for bench sitters

Last season, Cameron Puertas and Théo Leoni hardly got any chances, although they were allowed to come on here and there for Union SG and Anderlecht respectively. Due to the departure of a number of other players, they are now allowed to play fully and they are doing more than well.

Their new situation has stirred something in them. Puertas now has no less than eight goals and twenty (!) assists in the Jupiler Pro League, Théo Leoni also has three goals and seven assists. Not bad for the Brussels youth product.

Hans Vanaken, for his part, did not have an easy season with Club Brugge, but has quietly managed five goals and seven assists. He led the team several times in difficult moments.

El Khannouss and De Sart had a great season, while Bill Antonio was also a real revelation at Mechelen. Yet Rob Schoofs, as a great advocate and pure leader of Malinwa, is perhaps the man who was of vital importance in the rest of the radar work.

Attackers: Statistics matter

Of course, we also have to look at the statistics in attack. We can’t go with top scorer Kevin Denkey (23 goals already!) at all. Aboubakary Koita led STVV to a very safe season with fourteen goals, in which the Champions’ Play-off was even just around the corner.

And then of course there is Mohamed Amoura, who came from Lugano to Union SG for four million euros. He has scored 22 times and provided six assists across all competitions and has been important for the Brussels side every 87 minutes he has played. Furthermore, the Algerian attacker also makes jaws drop with his speed and technique.