# 2021–22 Royal Antwerp F.C. season

The 2021–22 season was the 118th season in the existence of Royal Antwerp F.C. and the club's fifth consecutive season in the top flight of Belgian football. In addition to the domestic league, Antwerp participated in this season's editions of the Belgian Cup and the UEFA Europa League.

## Players
### First-team squad

    As of 31 August 2021
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 |
| 4 | MF | BEL | Radja Nainggolan |
| 5 | DF | POR | Aurélio Buta |
| 6 | MF | BEL | Birger Verstraete |
| 7 | FW | DEN | Viktor Fischer |
| 8 | MF | NGA | Alhassan Yusuf |
| 9 | FW | GER | Johannes Eggestein |
| 10 | MF | BEL | Michel-Ange Balikwisha |
| 11 | MF | COD | Nill De Pauw |
| 12 | DF | COD | Luete Ava Dongo |
| 14 | MF | BEL | Manuel Benson |
| 16 | MF | BEL | Pieter Gerkens |
| 18 | DF | FRA | Yassine Ben Hamed |
| 19 | MF | JPN | Koji Miyoshi |
| 21 | DF | USA | Sam Vines |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 22 | FW | ANG | Bruny Nsimba |
| 24 | DF | BEL | Dorian Dessoleil |
| 23 | MF | GHA | Opoku Ampomah (on loan from Fortuna Düsseldorf) |
| 26 | GK | BEL | Ortwin De Wolf |
| 30 | DF | SEN | Abdoulaye Seck |
| 34 | MF | BEL | Jelle Bataille |
| 38 | MF | BEL | Faris Haroun (Captain) |
| 43 | MF | BEL | Sander Coopman |
| 44 | FW | NED | Emanuel Emegha |
| 51 | DF | ECU | Willian Pacho |
| 61 | DF | POR | Dinis Almeida |
| 70 | MF | TAN | Mbwana Samatta (on loan from Fenerbahçe) |
| 71 | GK | CRO | Davor Matijaš |
| 80 | MF | BEL | Pierre Dwomoh |
| 90 | FW | CAN | Jules-Anthony Vilsaint |
| 99 | FW | SUI | Michael Frey |

### 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 |
| 1 | GK | IRN | Alireza Beiranvand (at Boavista) |
| 7 | FW | CMR | Didier Lamkel Zé (at DAC Dunajská Streda) |
| 9 | FW | CGO | Guy Mbenza (at Wydad AC) |
| 15 | MF | CMR | Frank Boya (at Zulte Waregem) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | MF | CMR | Martin Hongla (at Hellas Verona) |
| 25 | MF | BEL | Alexis De Sart (at Oud-Heverlee Leuven) |
| 40 | DF | NGA | Junior Pius (at Sint-Truidense) |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos. | Player | From | Fee |
| 17 June 2021 | FW | Michael Frey | Fenerbahçe | Undisclosed |
| 18 June 2021 | DF | Björn Engels | Aston Villa | Undisclosed |
| 7 July 2021 | DF | Yassine Ben Hamed | Lille | Undisclosed |
| 15 July 2021 | DF | Sam Vines | Colorado Rapids | Undisclosed |
| 16 July 2021 | MF | Alhassan Yusuf | Göteborg | Undisclosed |
| 30 July 2021 | FW | Viktor Fischer | Copenhagen | Undisclosed |
| 5 August 2021 | FW | Johannes Eggestein | Werder Bremen | Undisclosed |
| 14 August 2021 | MF | Radja Nainggolan | Inter Milan | Free transfer |
| 27 August 2021 | MF | Pierre Dwomoh | K.R.C. Genk | Undisclosed |
| 27 August 2021 | DF | Dorian Dessoleil | R. Charleroi S.C. | Undisclosed |
| 31 August 2021 | FW | Mbwana Samatta | Fenerbahçe | On loan |
| 28 January 2022 | DF | Willian Pacho | Independiente del Valle | Undisclosed |
| 31 January 2022 | FW | Emanuel Emegha | Sparta Rotterdam | Undisclosed |

### Out

| Date | Pos. | Player | To | Fee |
| 1 July 2021 | DF | Simen Juklerød | K.R.C. Genk | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2021 | MF | Lior Refaelov | Anderlecht | Free transfer |
| 12 July 2021 | FW | Dieumerci Mbokani | Kuwait SC | Free transfer |
| 23 July 2021 | DF | Dylan Batubinsika | F.C. Famalicão | Undisclosed |
| 31 August 2021 | MF | Louis Verstraete | Waasland-Beveren | Undisclosed |
| 2 December 2021 | FW | Jonathan Bolingi | Buriram United F.C. | Undisclosed |
| 27 January 2022 | DF | Robbe Quirynen | K.M.S.K. Deinze | Undisclosed |

#### Notes

* ↑ Contract with Inter Milan terminated by mutual consent. On 14 August 2021, Nainggolan joined Royal Antwerp as a free agent.

## Pre-season and friendlies

Win  Draw  Loss  Fixtures

## 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 First Division A | 25 July 2021 | May 2022 | Matchday 1 | | 34 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 55 | 38 | +17 | 055.88 |
| Belgian Cup | 28 October 2021 | 28 October 2021 | Sixth round | Sixth round | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 000.00 |
| UEFA Europa League | 19 August 2021 | 9 December 2021 | Play-off round | Group stage | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 14 | −4 | 012.50 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 43 | 20 | 9 | 14 | 66 | 54 | +12 | 046.51 |
Last updated: 9 April 2022 Source: Soccerway

### First Division A
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 2 | Club Brugge (C) | 34 | 21 | 9 | 4 | 72 | 37 | +35 | 72 | Qualification for the Play-offs I |
| 3 | Anderlecht | 34 | 18 | 10 | 6 | 72 | 36 | +36 | 64 | Qualification for the Play-offs I |
| 4 | Antwerp | 34 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 55 | 38 | +17 | 63 | Qualification for the Play-offs I |
| 5 | Gent | 34 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 56 | 30 | +26 | 62 | Qualification for the Play-offs II |
| 6 | Charleroi | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 55 | 46 | +9 | 54 | Qualification for the Play-offs II |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 9 April 2022. Source: Jupiler Pro League

#### 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 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
| Ground | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | L | W | D | W | D | W | W | W | W | L | D | W | W | L | W | W | L | W | D | W | W | W | D | W | L | W | L | L | W | L | W | W | D |
| Position | 14 | 18 | 13 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 |

#### Matches

The league fixtures were announced on 8 June 2021.

#### Play-Off I

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation | CLU | USG | AND | ANT |
| 1 | Club Brugge (C) | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 50 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| 2 | Union SG | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 46 | Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round | 0–2 | — | 3–1 | 0–1 |
| 3 | Anderlecht | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 40 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League third qualifying round | 0–0 | 0–2 | — | 2–1 |
| 4 | Antwerp | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 36 | Qualification for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–4 | — |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 22 May 2022. Source: Jupiler Pro League

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Ground | A | H | H | A | H | A |
| Result | L | D | L | L | L | W |
| Position | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |

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

The draw for the play-off round was held on 2 August 2021.

#### Group stage

The group stage draw was held on 27 August 2021.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | FRA | OLY | FEN | ANT |
| 1 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 12 | Advance to round of 16 | — | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| 2 | Olympiacos | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 9 | Advance to knockout round play-offs | 1–2 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| 3 | Fenerbahçe | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 6 | Transfer to Europa Conference League | 1–1 | 0–3 | — | 2–2 |
| 4 | Antwerp | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 5 | | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | — |

## Statistics
### Squad appearances and goals

    Last updated on 3 October 2021.
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Belgian Division | Belgian Division | Belgian Cup | Belgian Cup | UEFA Europa League | UEFA Europa League |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | FRA | Jean Butez | 14 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 26 | GK | BEL | Ortwin De Wolf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 71 | GK | CRO | Davor Matijaš | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | BEL | Ritchie De Laet | 13 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | BEL | Björn Engels | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | POR | Aurélio Buta | 14 | 0 | 7+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | COD | Luete Ava Dongo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | BEL | Robbe Quirynen | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | FRA | Yassine Ben Hamed | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | USA | Sam Vines | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | BEL | Dorian Dessoleil | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | SEN | Abdoulaye Seck | 9 | 0 | 4+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 61 | DF | POR | Dinis Almeida | 8 | 0 | 4+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 4 | MF | BEL | Radja Nainggolan | 10 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | BEL | Birger Verstraete | 14 | 1 | 9+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | NGA | Alhassan Yusuf | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | BEL | Michel-Ange Balikwisha | 5 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | COD | Nill De Pauw | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | BEL | Manuel Benson | 12 | 4 | 5+4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 2 |
| 16 | MF | BEL | Pieter Gerkens | 14 | 2 | 8+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+3 | 1 |
| 19 | MF | JPN | Koji Miyoshi | 11 | 3 | 6+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2+2 | 2 |
| 23 | MF | GHA | Opoku Ampomah | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | BEL | Abderahmane Soussi | 2 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | BEL | Jelle Bataille | 13 | 0 | 7+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 38 | MF | BEL | Faris Haroun | 4 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 70 | MF | TAN | Mbwana Samatta | 7 | 1 | 2+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 80 | MF | BEL | Pierre Dwomoh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 7 | FW | DEN | Viktor Fischer | 11 | 1 | 8+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | GER | Johannes Eggestein | 10 | 0 | 0+6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | BEL | Manuel Benson | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | ANG | Bruny Nsimba | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 90 | FW | CAN | Jules-Anthony Vilsaint | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 99 | FW | SUI | Michael Frey | 12 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| Players who have made an appearance this season but have left the club ||||||||||||

### Goalscorers

    As of 22 May 2022
| Rank | No. | Pos | Nat | Name | First Division A | Belgian Cup | Europa League | Total |
| 1 | 99 | FW | | Michael Frey | 24 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 2 | 70 | FW | | Mbwana Samatta | 5 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| 3 | 14 | FW | | Manuel Benson | 5 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 | 10 | FW | | Michel-Ange Balikwisha | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 | 16 | MF | | Pieter Gerkens | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 6 | 4 | MF | | Radja Nainggolan | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | 7 | FW | | Viktor Fischer | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | 8 | MF | | Alhassan Yusuf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | 19 | FW | | Koji Miyoshi | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 10 | 3 | DF | | Björn Engels | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | 6 | MF | | Birger Verstraete | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | 30 | DF | | Abdoulaye Seck | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 13 | 2 | DF | | Ritchie De Laet | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 56 | 1 | 10 | 67 |