# 2023–24 Royal Antwerp F.C. season

The 2023–24 season was Royal Antwerp Sporting Club's 144th season in existence and seventh consecutive in the Belgian Pro League. They also competed in the Belgian Cup and the Belgian Super Cup, as well as the UEFA Champions League for the first time.

## Players
### First-team squad

    As of 9 February 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | FRA | Jean Butez |
| 2 | DF | BEL | Ritchie De Laet |
| 3 | DF | BEL | Björn Engels |
| 5 | DF | NED | Owen Wijndal (on loan from AFC Ajax) |
| 6 | MF | BEL | Eliot Matazo (on loan from AS Monaco) |
| 7 | FW | SUR | Gyrano Kerk (on loan from Lokomotiv Moscow) |
| 8 | MF | NGA | Alhassan Yusuf |
| 9 | FW | NGA | George Ilenikhena |
| 10 | FW | BEL | Michel-Ange Balikwisha |
| 17 | FW | SWE | Jacob Ondrejka |
| 18 | FW | NED | Vincent Janssen |
| 19 | FW | NGA | Chidera Ejuke (on loan from CSKA Moscow) |
| 23 | DF | BEL | Toby Alderweireld (captain) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 24 | MF | NED | Jurgen Ekkelenkamp |
| 27 | MF | BEL | Mandela Keita (on loan from OH Leuven) |
| 33 | DF | BEL | Zeno Van Den Bosch |
| 34 | DF | BEL | Jelle Bataille |
| 44 | DF | FRA | Soumaïla Coulibaly (on loan from Borussia Dortmund) |
| 46 | MF | BEL | Milan Smits |
| 55 | FW | ECU | Anthony Valencia |
| 84 | MF | MLI | Mahamadou Doumbia |
| 87 | GK | BEL | Davino Verhulst |
| 91 | GK | BEL | Senne Lammens |
| — | MF | NIG | Moustapha Amadou Sabo (on loan from Hammarby IF) |
| — | DF | BEL | Dorian Dessoleil |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 30 | MF | GER | Christopher Scott (at Hannover 96) |
| 50 | DF | KOS | Laurit Krasniqi (at Roda JC Kerkrade) |
| 80 | MF | BEL | Pierre Dwomoh (at RWDM) |

## Transfers
### In

| Pos. | Player | Transferred from | Fee | Date |
| MF | Eliot Matazo | AS Monaco | On loan | 1 February 2024 |
| MF | Mahamadou Doumbia | JMG Academy Bamako | Undisclosed | 6 September 2023 |
| DF | Owen Wijndal | AFC Ajax | On loan | 5 September 2023 |
| DF | Mamane Moustapha Amadou Sabo | Hammarby IF | On loan | 24 August 2023 |
| DF | Soumaïla Coulibaly | Borussia Dortmund | On loan | 11 August 2023 |
| MF | Mandela Keita | OH Leuven | On loan | 10 August 2023 |
| FW | Chidera Ejuke | CSKA Moscow | On loan | 30 July 2023 |
| FW | Gyrano Kerk | FC Lokomotiv Moscow | On loan | 5 July 2023 |
| FW | George Ilenikhena | Amiens | € 6,000,000 | 1 July 2023 |
| GK | Senne Lammens | Club Brugge | Free | 1 July 2023 |
| FW | Jacob Ondrejka | Elfsborg | € 1,700,000 | 1 July 2023 |

### Out

| Pos. | Player | Transferred to | Fee | Date |
| FW | Arbnor Muja | Samsunspor | € 2,000,000 | 9 February 2024 |
| FW | Michael Frey | Queens Park Rangers | Undisclosed | 28 January 2024 |
| MF | Arthur Vermeeren | Atlético Madrid | € 18,000,000 | 26 January 2024 |
| DF | Sam Vines | Colorado Rapids | Undisclosed | 22 January 2024 |
| GK | Ortwin De Wolf | Zulte Waregem | € 300,000 | 9 January 2024 |
| MF | Birger Verstraete | Aris Thessaloniki | Undisclosed | 11 September 2023 |
| MF | Frank Boya | Amiens SC | € 3,000,000 | 1 September 2023 |
| DF | Gastón Ávila | AFC Ajax | € 12,500,000 | 22 August 2023 |
| FW | Viktor Fischer | | Contract terminated | 30 June 2023 |
| DF | Willian Pacho | Eintracht Frankfurt | € 13,650,000 | 30 June 2023 |
| MF | Alexis De Sart | RWDM | € 500,000 | 30 June 2023 |
| FW | Koji Miyoshi | Birmingham City | End of contract | 30 June 2023 |
| MF | Pieter Gerkens | AA Gent | End of contract | 30 June 2023 |
| MF | Faris Haroun | | Retired | 30 June 2023 |

#### 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.

## Competitions
### Overall record

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Belgian Pro League Regular season | 28 July 2023 | 26 May 2024 | Matchday 1 | | 30 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 55 | 27 | +28 | 046.67 |
| Champions' Play-offs | 30 March 2024 | 26 May 2024 | Matchday 1 | | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 16 | −12 | 012.50 |
| Belgian Cup | 1 November 2023 | 9 May 2024 | Seventh round | Runner-up | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 7 | +9 | 066.67 |
| Belgian Super Cup | 23 July 2023 | 23 July 2023 | | Winners | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +0 | 000.00 |
| UEFA Champions League | 22 August 2023 | 13 December 2023 | Play-off round | | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 18 | −9 | 037.50 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 53 | 22 | 12 | 19 | 85 | 69 | +16 | 041.51 |
Last updated: 12 May 2024 Source: Soccerway

### Belgian Pro League
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Union SG | 30 | 21 | 7 | 2 | 63 | 31 | +32 | 70 | Qualification for the Europa League and champions' play-offs |
| 2 | Anderlecht | 30 | 18 | 9 | 3 | 58 | 30 | +28 | 63 | Qualification for the champions' play-offs |
| 3 | Antwerp | 30 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 55 | 27 | +28 | 52 | Qualification for the champions' play-offs |
| 4 | Club Brugge | 30 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 62 | 29 | +33 | 51 | Qualification for the champions' play-offs |
| 5 | Cercle Brugge | 30 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 44 | 34 | +10 | 47 | Qualification for the champions' play-offs |
* ↑ The regular season winner qualified for the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League if not earning 2024–25 UEFA Champions League in the play-off.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 17 March 2024. Source:

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | L | W | D | D | D | W | D | D | W | L | L | W | W | D | W | W | D | D | L | W | L | W | W | W | L | D | W | W | D |
| Position | 4 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |

#### Matches

The league fixtures were announced on 22 June 2023.

#### Champions' Play-Off

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation | CLU | USG | AND | CER | GNK | ANT |
| 1 | Club Brugge (C) | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 6 | +15 | 50 | Qualification for the Champions League league stage | — | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 |
| 2 | Union SG | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 12 | +5 | 49 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round | 1–2 | — | 0–0 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 4–1 |
| 3 | Anderlecht | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 46 | Qualification for the Europa League play-off round | 0–1 | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| 4 | Cercle Brugge | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 37 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | — | 4–1 | 0–1 |
| 5 | Genk | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 17 | −9 | 37 | Qualification for the European competition play-off | 0–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 |
| 6 | Antwerp | 10 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 7 | 18 | −11 | 32 | | 1–2 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | — |
* ↑ Union SG qualified for the Europa League play-off round by winning the 2023–24 Belgian Cup. The Europa League second qualifying spot and the European competition play-off spot were thus passed to the next two highest-placed teams that did not qualify for European competitions.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: Jupiler Pro League

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Ground | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H |
| Result | L | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | W |
| Position | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |

#### Matches
### UEFA Champions League
#### Play-off round

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

#### Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 31 August 2023.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BAR | POR | SHK | ANT |
| 1 | Barcelona | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 6 | +6 | 12 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 2–1 | 2–1 | 5–0 |
| 2 | Porto | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 8 | +7 | 12 | Advance to knockout phase | 0–1 | — | 5–3 | 2–0 |
| 3 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 12 | −2 | 9 | Transfer to Europa League | 1–0 | 1–3 | — | 1–0 |
| 4 | Antwerp | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 17 | −11 | 3 | | 3–2 | 1–4 | 2–3 | — |
* 1 2 Head-to-head points: Barcelona 6, Porto 0.

## Statistics
### Goalscorers

    As of 26 May 2024
| Rank | No. | Pos | Nat | Name | Belgian Pro League | Belgian Cup | Champions League | Super Cup | Total |
| 1 | 18 | FW | | Vincent Janssen | 11 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 17 |
| 2 | 9 | FW | | George Ilenikhena | 8 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 14 |
| 3 | 10 | FW | | Michel-Ange Balikwisha | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| 4 | 11 | FW | | Arbnor Muja | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 5 | 17 | FW | | Jacob Ondrejka | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 5 | 19 | FW | | Chidera Ejuke | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 5 | 24 | MF | | Jurgen Ekkelenkamp | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 8 | 7 | FW | | Gyrano Kerk | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 8 | 23 | DF | | Toby Alderweireld | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 10 | 84 | MF | | Mahamadou Doumbia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 11 | 33 | DF | | Zeno Van den Bosch | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | 48 | MF | | Arthur Vermeeren | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 13 | 2 | DF | | Ritchie De Laet | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | 5 | DF | | Owen Wijndal | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | 6 | MF | | Eliot Matazo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | 8 | MF | | Alhassan Yusuf | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | 21 | DF | | Sam Vines | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | 34 | DF | | Jelle Bataille | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | 52 | DF | | Kobe Corbanie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 62 | 16 | 9 | 1 | 88 |