# 2020–21 Belgian First Division A

The 2020–21 Belgian First Division A was the 118th season of top-tier football in Belgium. As part of a proposal by the Jupiler Pro League's board of directors accepted by the General Assembly on 15 May 2020, the 2020–21 season would involve shortened playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Only the top four teams would play for the title, while teams five through eight would play for the remaining ticket into Europe. The league fixtures were announced on 8 July 2020. Club Brugge successfully defended their title from the previous season, finishing level on points in the title play-offs with Racing Genk, as regular season runners-up Royal Antwerp's challenge faded.

## Team changes

Waasland-Beveren were originally relegated to the Belgian First Division B, as they were the bottom-placed team when the 2019–20 Belgian First Division A stopped prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, following legal proceedings, they remained in the top-flight, and instead, the league was expanded to 18 teams, with both OH Leuven and Beerschot being promoted (normally only one of them would have gained promotion). Technically, under its current form and owners, Beerschot will make its debut in the top tier of Belgian football, although in reality two teams with the same identity have played at the top level: Beerschot VAC (81 seasons, last in 1990–91) and Beerschot AC (until its bankruptcy at the end of the 2012–13 season, and known as Germinal Beerschot from 1999 until 2011). OH Leuven returned to the top tier after an absence of four seasons, when they dropped to the last place on the ultimate matchday of the 2015–16 season.

## Format change

With now 18 instead of 16 teams, the format has changed somewhat. While the season still starts with an initial round-robin phase in which all teams play each other twice, the end of season play-offs have been shortened temporarily and for the 2020–21 and 2021–22 seasons only. The title playoffs will now only be played by the top four teams (instead of six) and the Europa play-offs will now be played by the teams finishing fifth through eight (instead of all teams finishing below 6th). As a result, for all teams finishing below 8th, the season will be over upon completion of the round-robin phase, with the team in last position being relegated. One exception is the team finishing in 17th position, as this team will play a promotion-relegation play off against the 2nd-place finisher in the 2020–21 Belgian First Division B, with the winner playing in the 2021–22 Belgian First Division A.

## Teams
### Stadiums and locations

| Matricule | Club | Location | Venue | Capacity |
| 35 | Anderlecht | Anderlecht | Constant Vanden Stock Stadium | 21,500 |
| 1 | Antwerp | Antwerp | Bosuilstadion | 12,975 |
| 13 | Beerschot | Antwerp | Olympic Stadium | 12,771 |
| 12 | Cercle Brugge | Bruges | Jan Breydel Stadium | 29,042 |
| 22 | Charleroi | Charleroi | Stade du Pays de Charleroi | 14,000 |
| 3 | Club Brugge | Bruges | Jan Breydel Stadium | 29,042 |
| 4276 | Eupen | Eupen | Kehrwegstadion | 08,363 |
| 322 | Genk | Genk | Luminus Arena | 24,956 |
| 7 | Gent | Ghent | Ghelamco Arena | 20,000 |
| 19 | Kortrijk | Kortrijk | Guldensporen Stadion | 09,399 |
| 25 | Mechelen | Mechelen | AFAS-stadion Achter de Kazerne | 16,700 |
| 216 | Mouscron | Mouscron | Stade Le Canonnier | 10,571 |
| 31 | Oostende | Ostend | Versluys Arena | 08,432 |
| 18 | Oud-Heverlee Leuven | Leuven | Den Dreef | 10,000 |
| 373 | Sint-Truiden | Sint-Truiden | Stayen | 14,600 |
| 16 | Standard Liège | Liège | Stade Maurice Dufrasne | 30,023 |
| 4068 | Waasland-Beveren | Beveren | Freethiel Stadion | 08,190 |
| 5381 | Zulte Waregem | Waregem | Regenboogstadion | 12,500 |

### Number of teams by provinces

| Number of teams | Province or region | Team(s) |
| 5 | West Flanders | Cercle Brugge, Club Brugge, Kortrijk, Oostende and Zulte Waregem |
| 3 | Antwerp | Antwerp, Beerschot and Mechelen |
| 2 | East Flanders | Gent and Waasland-Beveren |
| 2 | Hainaut | Charleroi and Mouscron |
| 2 | Liège | Eupen and Standard Liège |
| 2 | Limburg | Genk and Sint-Truiden |
| 1 | Brussels | Anderlecht |
| 1 | Flemish Brabant | Oud-Heverlee Leuven |

### Personnel and kits

| Club | Manager | Kit Manufacturer | Sponsors |
| Anderlecht | Vincent Kompany | Joma | DVV Insurance (home) Candriam (away) |
| Antwerp | Franky Vercauteren | Jako | Ghelamco |
| Beerschot | Will Still | XIII | Yelo |
| Cercle Brugge | Yves Vanderhaeghe | Kappa | Napoleon Games |
| Charleroi | Karim Belhocine | Kappa | Lotto |
| Club Brugge | Philippe Clement | Macron | Unibet |
| Eupen | Beñat San José | Adidas | Qatar Airways |
| Excel Mouscron | Jorge Simão | Uhlsport | Star Casino |
| Genk | John van den Brom | Nike | Beobank |
| Gent | Hein Vanhaezebrouck | Craft | VDK Bank |
| Kortrijk | Luka Elsner | Jako | AGO Jobs & HR |
| Mechelen | Wouter Vrancken | Jartazi | Telenet |
| OH Leuven | Marc Brys | Adidas | King Power |
| Oostende | Alexander Blessin | Kipsta | Star Casino |
| Sint-Truiden | Peter Maes | Macron | DMM.com |
| Standard Liège | Mbaye Leye | New Balance | VOO |
| Waasland-Beveren | Nicky Hayen | Uhlsport | Star Casino |
| Zulte-Waregem | Francky Dury | Patrick | Napoleon Games |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
| Cercle Brugge | Bernd Storck | End of contract | End of 2019–20 season | Pre-season | Paul Clement | 3 July 2020 |
| Antwerp | László Bölöni | End of contract | End of 2019–20 season | Pre-season | Ivan Leko | 20 May 2020 |
| Sint-Truiden | Miloš Kostić | Mutual consent | End of 2019–20 season | Pre-season | Kevin Muscat | 2 June 2020 |
| Waasland-Beveren | Dirk Geeraerd (caretaker) | Caretaker replaced | End of 2019–20 season | Pre-season | Nicky Hayen | 4 June 2020 |
| Oostende | Adnan Čustović | Replaced | End of 2019–20 season | Pre-season | Alexander Blessin | 7 June 2020 |
| Standard Liège | Michel Preud'homme | Resigned | End of 2019–20 season | Pre-season | Philippe Montanier | 10 June 2020 |
| Excel Mouscron | Bernd Hollerbach | Mutual consent | End of 2019–20 season | Pre-season | Fernando Da Cruz | 18 July 2020 |
| Anderlecht | Franky Vercauteren | Kompany became sole manager | 17 August 2020 | 3rd | Vincent Kompany | 17 August 2020 |
| Gent | Jess Thorup | Sacked | 20 August 2020 | 16th | László Bölöni | 20 August 2020 |
| Gent | László Bölöni | Sacked | 14 September 2020 | 16th | Wim De Decker | 14 September 2020 |
| Genk | Hannes Wolf | Sacked | 15 September 2020 | 14th | Domenico Olivieri (caretaker) | 15 September 2020 |
| Genk | Domenico Olivieri | Caretaker replaced | 24 September 2020 | 14th | Jess Thorup | 24 September 2020 |
| Excel Mouscron | Fernando Da Cruz | Sacked | 19 October 2020 | 18th | Jorge Simão | 20 October 2020 |
| Genk | Jess Thorup | Hired by Copenhagen | 2 November 2020 | 7th | John van den Brom | 8 November 2020 |
| Sint-Truiden | Kevin Muscat | Sacked | 1 December 2020 | 16th | Stef Van Winckel (caretaker) | 1 December 2020 |
| Gent | Wim De Decker | Sacked | 3 December 2020 | 12th | Hein Vanhaezebrouck | 4 December 2020 |
| Sint-Truiden | Stef Van Winckel | Caretaker replaced | 7 December 2020 | 17th | Peter Maes | 7 December 2020 |
| Standard Liège | Philippe Montanier | Sacked | 26 December 2020 | 11th | Mbaye Leye | 30 December 2020 |
| Antwerp | Ivan Leko | Hired by Shanghai SIPG | 29 December 2020 | 5th | Franky Vercauteren | 4 January 2021 |
| Beerschot | Hernán Losada | Hired by D.C. United | 17 January 2021 | 10th | Will Still | 19 January 2021 |
| Kortrijk | Yves Vanderhaeghe | Sacked | 31 January 2021 | 15th | Luka Elsner | 31 January 2021 |
| Cercle Brugge | Paul Clement | Sacked | 1 February 2021 | 17th | Yves Vanderhaeghe | 3 February 2021 |

## Regular season
### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Club Brugge (C) | 34 | 24 | 4 | 6 | 73 | 26 | +47 | 76 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League and Play-offs I |
| 2 | Antwerp | 34 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 57 | 48 | +9 | 60 | Qualification for the Play-offs I |
| 3 | Anderlecht | 34 | 15 | 13 | 6 | 51 | 34 | +17 | 58 | Qualification for the Play-offs I |
| 4 | Genk | 34 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 67 | 48 | +19 | 56 | Qualification for the Play-offs I |
| 5 | Oostende | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 49 | 41 | +8 | 53 | Qualification for the Play-offs II |
| 6 | Standard Liège | 34 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 52 | 41 | +11 | 50 | Qualification for the Play-offs II |
| 7 | Gent | 34 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 55 | 42 | +13 | 49 | Qualification for the Play-offs II |
| 8 | Mechelen | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 54 | 54 | 0 | 48 | Qualification for the Play-offs II |
| 9 | Beerschot | 34 | 14 | 5 | 15 | 58 | 64 | −6 | 47 | |
| 10 | Zulte Waregem | 34 | 14 | 4 | 16 | 53 | 69 | −16 | 46 | |
| 11 | OH Leuven | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 54 | 59 | −5 | 45 | |
| 12 | Eupen | 34 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 44 | 55 | −11 | 43 | |
| 13 | Charleroi | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 46 | 49 | −3 | 42 | |
| 14 | Kortrijk | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 44 | 57 | −13 | 39 | |
| 15 | Sint-Truiden | 34 | 10 | 8 | 16 | 41 | 52 | −11 | 38 | |
| 16 | Cercle Brugge | 34 | 11 | 3 | 20 | 40 | 51 | −11 | 36 | |
| 17 | Waasland-Beveren (R) | 34 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 44 | 70 | −26 | 31 | Qualification for the Relegation play-off |
| 18 | Excel Mouscron (R) | 34 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 32 | 54 | −22 | 31 | Relegation to First Division B |
* ↑ The regular season winners will qualify for the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League if they do not qualify for the 2021–22 UEFA Champions League in the playoffs or for the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League through the 2020–21 Belgian Cup.
* ↑ Genk qualifies for at least the play-off round of the Europa League through winning the 2021 Belgian Cup.
* 1 2 On 14 April 2021 news was released that both Excel Mouscron and Oostende had not received a Belgian professional football license for the coming season, a requirement to play at the top two levels of Belgian football. For Oostende, a lack of financial transparency, together with generally poor quality and incompleteness of the submitted report, was given as the main reason by the committee for not awarding a license, while Excel Mouscron was refused a license as besides insufficient transparency, the committee also questioned several cash flows and whether the club was creditworthy in general, also due to the fact that the wages for the months of February and March had not yet been paid at that point. For Excel Mouscron, it was already the sixth year running the license was (initially) refused, however, the club has appealed the decision with the Belgian Court for Sports Arbitrage (BAS) successfully on each occasion and intended to do so again. Oostende was planning to launch an appeal as well, with the BAS to rule on the matter for both clubs before the 10th of May. Both clubs were allowed to add new documents to their case, but in case they however still did not receive a license after appeal, knew they would have been forced to relegate to the 2021–22 Belgian Division 2 and start the season with a 3-point penalty. Both Excel Mouscron and Oostende were however eventually awarded a license after appeal, meaning Oostende remained at the top level, while Excel Mouscron only dropped one level.

### Results

| Home \ Away | CLU | ANT | AND | GNK | OOS | STA | GNT | KVM | BEE | ZWA | OHL | EUP | CHA | KVK | STR | CER | W-B | EXM |
| Club Brugge | — | 0–2 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 4–2 |
| Antwerp | 0–2 | — | 1–4 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 |
| Anderlecht | 2–1 | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Genk | 1–2 | 4–2 | 1–2 | — | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 |
| Oostende | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | — | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–0 |
| Standard Liège | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 |
| Gent | 0–4 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | 1–0 | 5–1 | 0–3 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 4–0 |
| Mechelen | 0–3 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | — | 2–3 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 2–1 |
| Beerschot | 0–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 5–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | — | 3–1 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 6–3 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 |
| Zulte Waregem | 0–6 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–7 | 1–2 | 0–3 | — | 2–3 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 |
| OH Leuven | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 |
| Eupen | 0–4 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 3–3 | — | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Charleroi | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | — | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| Kortrijk | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–4 | 5–5 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–3 | — | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 3–0 |
| Sint-Truiden | 1–2 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | — | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| Cercle Brugge | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–5 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 5–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–4 | 0–1 | 3–0 | — | 2–0 | 1–2 |
| Waasland-Beveren | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–5 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–4 | 2–4 | 0–2 | — | 2–0 |
| Excel Mouscron | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | — |

## Play-offs
### Play-Off I

The points obtained during the regular season were halved (and rounded up) before the start of the playoff. As a result, the teams started with the following points before the playoff: Club Brugge 38, Antwerp 30, Anderlecht 29 and Genk 28.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation | CLU | GNK | ANT | AND |
| 1 | Club Brugge (C) | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 44 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage | — | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 |
| 2 | Genk | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 5 | +10 | 44 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round | 3–0 | — | 4–0 | 1–1 |
| 3 | Antwerp | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 35 | Qualification for the Europa League play-off round | 0–0 | 2–3 | — | 1–0 |
| 4 | Anderlecht | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 11 | −2 | 33 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League third qualifying round | 3–3 | 1–2 | 2–2 | — |

### Play-Off II

The points obtained during the regular season were halved (and rounded up) before the start of the playoff. As a result, the teams started with the following points before the playoff: Oostende 27, Standard 25, Gent 25 and Mechelen 24. The points of Oostende and Gent were rounded up, therefore in case of any ties on points at the end of the playoffs, the half point will be deducted for these teams.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation | GNT | MEC | OOS | STA |
| 1 | Gent | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 38 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round | — | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| 2 | Mechelen | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 11 | +4 | 35 | | 1–2 | — | 5–3 | 3–1 |
| 3 | Oostende | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 16 | −1 | 34 | | 0–4 | 2–2 | — | 6–2 |
| 4 | Standard Liège | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 17 | −10 | 28 | | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | — |

### European competition play-offs

Originally, the fourth-placed team of the play-offs I (or third-placed team if the regular season winners finish fourth) and the first-placed team of the play-offs II would play two home-and-away matches to determine the Europa Conference League play-off winner, which would qualify for the second qualifying round of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League. However, since Genk, winners of the 2020–21 Belgian Cup, finished in the regular season top four and qualified for play-offs I, this guaranteed that all four teams of play-offs I would qualify for European competitions. As a result, the play-off final was not played, and the first-placed team of the play-offs II, KAA Gent, qualified for the second qualifying round of the 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League.

## Promotion-Relegation play-off

The team finishing in 17th place competes in a two-legged match with the runner-up of the 2020–21 Belgian First Division B, with the aggregate winner to play in the 2021–22 Belgian First Division A, while the losing team will take part in the 2021–22 Belgian First Division B.
On 11 April 2021, Seraing from the Belgian First Division B qualified for the promotion-relegation playoff as a loss by Lommel against Union SG meant Seraing could no longer be overtaken for second place. On 8 May 2021, Seraing was promoted to the 2021–22 Belgian First Division A after a 6–3 aggregate win in the two-legged series and Waasland-Beveren was relegated to the 2021–22 Belgian First Division B.
Seraing won 6–3 on aggregate.

## Season statistics
### Top scorers - regular season only

    As of matches played on 18 April 2021.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Paul Onuachu | Genk | 30 |
| 2 | Thomas Henry | OH Leuven | 21 |
| 3 | Gianni Bruno | Zulte Waregem | 20 |
| 4 | Yuma Suzuki | Sint-Truiden | 17 |
| 4 | Roman Yaremchuk | Gent | 17 |
| 6 | Raphael Holzhauser | Beerschot | 16 |
| 6 | Ike Ugbo | Cercle Brugge | 16 |
| 8 | Smail Prevljak | Eupen | 15 |
| 9 | Theo Bongonda | Genk | 14 |
| 9 | Noa Lang | Club Brugge | 14 |
| 9 | Lukas Nmecha | Anderlecht | 14 |

### Top assists

    As of matches played on 18 April 2021.
| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
| 1 | Raphael Holzhauser | Beerschot | 16 |
| 1 | Xavier Mercier | OH Leuven | 16 |
| 3 | Andrew Hjulsager | Oostende | 10 |
| 3 | Junya Ito | Genk | 10 |
| 5 | Ruud Vormer | Club Brugge | 9 |
| 6 | Lior Refaelov | Antwerp | 8 |
| 7 | Omar Govea | Zulte Waregem | 7 |
| 7 | Noa Lang | Club Brugge | 7 |
| 7 | Ryota Morioka | Charleroi | 7 |
| 7 | Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe | Gent | 7 |
| 7 | Rob Schoofs | Mechelen | 7 |
| 7 | Faïz Selemani | Kortrijk | 7 |
| 7 | Hans Vanaken | Club Brugge | 7 |

## Awards
### Annual awards

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Player of the Year | Paul Onuachu | Genk |
| Top goalscorer | Paul Onuachu | Genk |
| Manager of the Year | Alexander Blessin | Oostende |
| Breakthrough of the Year | Noa Lang | Club Brugge |
Team of the Year :
| Goalkeeper | Simon Mignolet (Club Brugge) | Simon Mignolet (Club Brugge) | Simon Mignolet (Club Brugge) | Simon Mignolet (Club Brugge) |
| Defence | Clinton Mata (Club Brugge) | Arthur Theate (Oostende) | Ritchie De Laet (Royal Antwerp) | Ritchie De Laet (Royal Antwerp) |
| Midfield | Lior Refaelov (Royal Antwerp) | Bryan Heynen (Genk) | Raphael Holzhauser (Loreken) | Xavier Mercier (OH Leuven) |
| Attack | Junya Ito (Genk) | Paul Onuachu (Genk) | Noa Lang (Club Brugge) | Noa Lang (Club Brugge) |