Zulte Waregem claimed a 2-1 victory over Genk in their Jupiler Pro League opener on Sunday, with a late goal from S. Ujka securing all three points at home. The result moves the hosts up to fifth in the table on 11 points, while Genk drop to eighth with 8 points from five matches. And here's the thing — you wouldn't have expected the statistics to tell that story.
R. Durosinmi opened the scoring on 39 minutes before M. Ake levelled for the visitors on 82, only for Ujka to strike on 86 to complete the turnaround. There were five substitutions between the 61st and 90th minutes as both sides searched for a result. Genk had two yellow cards for D. Heymans and J. Kongolo, while Zulte Waregem showed four between Ementa, Kongolo, Akpan and Medina.
Genk dominated possession at 62 per cent and registered 98 attacks compared to 73, yet their two big chances created didn't translate into goals. The visitors managed only three shots on target against five for the hosts, with a 30 per cent accuracy rate. To be fair, Zulte Waregem's 45 per cent shot accuracy told the real story of efficiency over volume.
The hosts had already beaten Berchot-Vilrijk 2-2 and Sparta Rotterdam 3-2 in their previous outings, while Genk had taken two wins from their last two games against Twente and OSS. Both sides showed similar patterns in their recent form — attacking intent with defensive vulnerability. By then, the stage was set for an open encounter.
Zulte Waregem's aerial duels matched Genk's at 21 each, but the hosts won 9 compared to 12 for the visitors. The statistics revealed a match decided in moments rather than sustained pressure — three or four key incidents, nothing more. The result keeps the hosts within touching distance of the top positions after five games.
