Liège secured a 3-2 victory over Genk II in the Challenger Pro League on Sunday, with the match concluding at Stade du Pair-Non-Pair. The result leaves both sides level on three points after three games, though Liège sit two places above their hosts in the table.
Genk II seized the lead early through S. Paulet, who converted a penalty in the twelfth minute. Liège responded when R. Mirisola found the net thirty minutes in, and Paulet restored his side's advantage with a second goal before half-time. To be fair, the opening forty-five minutes read like a fixture played at a different tempo entirely.
The second half opened with Mirisola earning a spot-kick, which he duly converted in the fifty-sixth minute to level matters. Then came the decisive moment: E. Doucoure bundled an own goal past his own goalkeeper in the fifty-eighth minute. And here's the thing — that single error shifted everything without either manager needing to adjust their approach.
Substitutions began in earnest after the hour mark. Genk II brought on Y. Medina at the start of the half, while later additions included R. Ogam and N. Dendani. Liège made four changes, with Z. Henry, B. Bruggeman, J. Driessen and D. Nzoko entering the fray. By then, the match had settled into a rhythm of chasing rather than controlling.
The statistics tell a familiar story. Genk II dominated possession at sixty-five per cent and registered 136 attacks compared to Liège's 72. Yet the visitors took just three corners and still found a way back into it when it mattered. One mistake ends it, and that was precisely how this fixture concluded.
Both sides now share identical records: one win, two defeats, three points. Genk II sit in twelfth place after a 2-2 draw with Oud-Heverlee II on their previous outing, while Liège's last outing ended 1-2 against Francs Borains. The history between them adds an edge, but the table barely moved.