2021–22 K.V. Mechelen season

K.V. Mechelen

2021–22 season
Manager	Wouter Vrancken
Stadium	Achter de Kazerne
Belgian First Division A	7th
Belgian Cup	Quarter-finals
Top goalscorer	League: Nikola Storm (15) All: Nikola Storm (16)
Home colours Away colours Third colours

The 2021–22 season was the 118th season in the existence of K.V. Mechelen and the club's third consecutive season in the top flight of Belgian football. In addition to the domestic league, Mechelen participated in this season's edition of the Belgian Cup.

Players

First-team squad

As of 2 February 2022[1]

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  BEL Gaëtan Coucke 2 DF  BEL Iebe Swers 3 DF  NED Lucas Bijker 4 MF  BEL Dries Wouters (on loan from Schalke 04) 5 DF  IDN Sandy Walsh 6 MF  BEL Jannes Van Hecke 7 MF  BEL Geoffry Hairemans 8 MF  BEL Onur Kaya (captain) 10 FW  FRA Élie Youan (on loan from St. Gallen) 11 FW  BEL Nikola Storm 14 FW  BEL Hugo Cuypers 15 GK  BEL Yannick Thoelen 16 MF  BEL Rob Schoofs 17 MF  CMR Samuel Gouet

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 DF  BEL Alec Van Hoorenbeeck 19 FW  SWE Kerim Mrabti 20 FW  SWE Gustav Engvall 21 FW  BEL Niklo Dailly 22 DF  BEL Dylan Dassy 23 DF  FRA Thibault Peyre 30 DF  BEL Jordi Vanlerberghe 31 GK  BEL Senne Carleer 32 GK  RWA Maxime Wenssens 33 MF  BRA Vinícius Souza (on loan from Lommel) 34 DF  NED Rick van Drongelen (on loan from Union Berlin) 35 FW  UKR Marian Shved 37 MF  BEL Bas Van den Eynden — MF  USA Jorge Hernandez

Other players under contract

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 — DF  SWE Victor Wernersson

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 — GK  BEL Arno Valkenaers (to Thes Sport until 30 June 2022) — DF  BEL Ilias Breugelmans (to Helmond Sport until 30 June 2022) — DF  BEL Maxime De Bie (to Helmond Sport until 30 June 2022) — MF  BEL Gaétan Bosiers (to Helmond Sport until 30 June 2022)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  BEL Senne Ceulemans (to Thes Sport until 30 June 2022) — MF  BEL Jarno Lion (to Helmond Sport until 30 June 2022) — FW  BEL Jules Houttequiet (to Helmond Sport until 30 June 2022) — FW  CIV William Togui (to RWDM until 30 June 2022)

Transfers

In

No.	Pos	Player	Transferred from	Fee	Date	Source
–	MF	Samuel Gouet	Rheindorf Altach	Undisclosed	1 July 2021	[2]
–	FW	Hugo Cuypers	Olympiacos	Undisclosed	1 July 2021	[3]
–	MF	Vinicius Souza	Lommel	Loan	1 July 2021	[4]
–	DF	Iebe Swers	Seraing	Undisclosed	1 July 2021	[5]
–	DF	Flor Van Den Eynden	Free agent	Free	1 January 2022	[6]
–	MF	Dries Wouters	Schalke 04	Loan	12 January 2022	[7]
–	DF	Rick van Drongelen	Union Berlin	Loan	31 January 2022	[8]
–	FW	Élie Youan	St. Gallen	Loan	31 January 2022	[9]

Pre-season and friendlies

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

Tempo Overijse v Mechelen

26 June 2021 Friendly	Tempo Overijse	1–7	Mechelen	Overijse, Belgium
13:15 CEST (UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: Begijnhofstadion

FC Utrecht v Mechelen

30 June 2021 Friendly	FC Utrecht	7–2	Mechelen	Utrecht, Netherlands
17:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Sylla 2' Ramselaar 19' Dalmau 28', 44' Balk 57' Kerk 65' Cuypers 71' (o.g.)	Report	Hairemans 32' Cuypers 75'	Stadium: Sportcomplex Zoudenbalch Attendance: 0

Mechelen v Sint-Truiden

2 July 2021 Friendly	Mechelen	Cancelled	Sint-Truiden	Belgium
14:00 CEST (UTC+2)

Mechelen v Roda JC

9 July 2021 Friendly	Mechelen	2–2	Roda JC	Geel, Belgium
13:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Dailly 8' Cuypers 69', 74'	Report	Jensen 30' Goppel 61'	Stadium: De Leunen

Standard Liège v Mechelen

10 July 2021 Friendly	Standard Liège	2–2	Mechelen	Belgium
17:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Drăguș 30' Klauss 46'		Hairemans 7' Walsh 29'

Mechelen v Volos

17 July 2021 Friendly	Mechelen	2–1	Volos	Geel, Belgium
14:30 CEST (UTC+2)	Schoofs 29' Cuypers 68'		Fernandes 66'	Stadium: De Leunen

Westerlo v Mechelen

18 July 2021 Friendly	Westerlo	3–1	Mechelen	Belgium
11:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Vaesen 2', 35' Van Eenoo 52'	Report	Van Hoorenbeeck 17'

Wehen Wiesbaden v Mechelen

7 January 2022 Friendly	Wehen Wiesbaden	4–1	Mechelen	Oliva, Spain
14:30 CET (UTC+1)	Iredale 13', 30' Langford 63', 113'		Druijf 5' (pen.)	Stadium: Oliva Nova Golf & Beach Resort

Competitions

Overall record

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
					Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
First Division A	25 July 2021	21 May 2022	Matchday 1	7th	40	16	8	16	67	78	−11	040.00
Belgian Cup	26 October 2021	22 December 2021	Sixth round	Quarter-finals	3	2	0	1	5	5	+0	066.67
Total					43	18	8	17	72	83	−11	041.86

Last updated: 21 May 2022
Source: Soccerway

First Division A

Main article: 2021–22 Belgian First Division A

Regular season

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
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
7	Mechelen	34	15	7	12	57	61	−4	52
8	Genk	34	15	6	13	66	47	+19	51
9	Sint-Truiden	34	15	6	13	42	40	+2	51

Source: Jupiler Pro League (in Dutch), Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away matches won; 6) Away goal difference; 7) Away goals scored; 8) Play-off.[10]

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
34	15	7	12	57	61	−4	52	10	4	3	36	24	+12	5	3	9	21	37	−16

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	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A
Result	W	L	L	L	W	D	L	W	W	W	W	D	W	L	W	L	D	L	W	L	W	L	L	L	W	W	W	W	D	D	D	D	W	L
Position	4	8	14	15	10	13	16	12	9	6	5	5	4	4	4	4	7	7	7	8	7	7	7	9	7	7	7	6	6	6	6	7	6	7

Source: Jupiler Pro League
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

The league fixtures were announced on 8 June 2021.[11]

Mechelen v Antwerp

25 July 2021 1	Mechelen	3–2	Antwerp	Mechelen
13:30 CEST (UTC+2)	De Laet 60' (o.g.) Walsh  66' Druijf 73', 74' Schoofs  76'	Report	Frey 18' Benson 56' Verstraete  79' Bataille  90+3'	Stadium: Achter de Kazerne Attendance: 4,800 Referee: Nicolas Laforge

Seraing v Mechelen

31 July 2021 2	Seraing	1–0	Mechelen	Seraing
18:30 CEST (UTC+2)	Mouandilmadji 14'	Report		Stadium: Stade du Pairay Attendance: 1,684 Referee: Wesli De Cremer

Mechelen v Eupen

7 August 2021 3	Mechelen	1–3	Eupen	Mechelen
18:30 CEST (UTC+2)	Vinícius Souza 33'	Report	Peeters 49' Agbadou 85' Embaló 90'	Stadium: AFAS Stadion Attendance: 4,800 Referee: Christof Dierick

Gent v Mechelen

15 August 2021 4	Gent	2–0	Mechelen	Ghent
16:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Ngadeu-Ngadjui 28' Fortuna 90+2'	Report		Stadium: Ghelamco Arena Attendance: 14,604 Referee: Nathan Verboomen

Mechelen v Union Saint-Gilloise

22 August 2021 5	Mechelen	3–1	Union Saint-Gilloise	Mechelen
21:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Costa  8' Cuypers 13' Schwed 55' Shved  64' Storm 77'	Report	Vanzeir 1',  69' Sorinola  91' Nieuwkoop  93'	Stadium: AFAS-stadion Achter de Kazerne Attendance: 12,652 Referee: Bert Put

Kortrijk v Mechelen

27 August 2021 6	Kortrijk	2–2	Mechelen	Kortrijk
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)	D'haene 58' Guèye 76'	Report	Storm 14', 20'	Stadium: Guldensporen Stadion Attendance: 3,493 Referee: Alexandre Boucaut

Anderlecht v Mechelen

12 September 2021 7	Anderlecht	7–2	Mechelen	Anderlecht
13:30 CEST (UTC+2)	Raman 23' Kouamé 49' 57' Olsson  60' Murillo 61' Amuzu 74' Verschaeren 85' Zirkzee 87'	Report	Storm 36' Kaya 90+1'	Stadium: Constant Vanden Stock Stadium Attendance: 19,500 Referee: Jonathan Lardot

Mechelen v OH Leuven

18 September 2021 8	Mechelen	2–0	OH Leuven	Mechelen
CEST (UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: AFAS Stadion

Charleroi v Mechelen

26 September 2021 9	Charleroi	0–2	Mechelen	Charleroi
21:00 CEST (UTC+2)		Report	Storm 20' Vanlerberghe 8'	Stadium: Stade du Pays de Charleroi

Mechelen v Standard Liège

1 October 2021 10	Mechelen	3–1	Standard Liège	Mechelen
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)	Cuypers 4' Mrabti 10' (pen.) Walsh 18'		Drăguș 82'	Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Nathan Verboomen

Beerschot v Mechelen

17 October 2021 11	Beerschot	0–1	Mechelen	Antwerp
16:00 CET (UTC+1)			Mrabti 30'	Stadium: Olympisch Stadion Referee: Lothar D'hondt

Mechelen v Zulte Waregem

23 October 2021 12	Mechelen	2–2	Zulte Waregem	Mechelen
18:30 CEST (UTC+2)	Verstraete 16' Dismas 41' (o.g.)		Sangare 54' Vossen 62' (pen.)	Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Jasper Vergoote

Oostende v Mechelen

29 October 2021 13	Oostende	2–4	Mechelen	Ostend
21:00 CET (UTC+1)				Stadium: Diaz Arena

Mechelen v Sint-Truiden

6 November 2021 14	Mechelen	0–1	Sint-Truiden	Mechelen
CET (UTC+1)				Stadium: AFAS Stadion

Mechelen v Club Brugge

19 November 2021 15	Mechelen	2–1	Club Brugge	Mechelen
20:45 CET (UTC+1)				Stadium: Achter de Kazerne Referee: Nathan Verboomen

Cercle Brugge v Mechelen

27 November 2021 16	Cercle Brugge	3–1	Mechelen	Bruges
18:30 CET (UTC+1)				Stadium: Jan Breydel Stadium

Mechelen v Genk

5 December 2021 17	Mechelen	1–1	Genk	Mechelen
21:00 CET (UTC+1)				Stadium: AFAS Stadion

Union Saint-Gilloise v Mechelen

12 December 2021 18	Union Saint-Gilloise	2–0	Mechelen	Brussels
16:00 CET (UTC+1)	François  16' Vanzeir 35' Nielsen  46' Teuma 55' Burgess  69' Van der Heyden  70'	Report	Mrabti  13' Van Hoorenbeeck  52'	Stadium: Stade Joseph Marien Attendance: 8,100 Referee: Christof Dierick

Mechelen v Gent

15 December 2021 19	Mechelen	4–3	Gent	Mechelen
18:45 CET (UTC+1)	Mrabti 36', 60' Storm 54', 70'	Report	Tissoudali 33', 68' Depoitre 50'	Stadium: Achter de Kazerne Attendance: 12,385 Referee: Erik Lambrechts

Zulte Waregem v Mechelen

18 December 2021 20	Zulte Waregem	3–2	Mechelen	Waregem
18:30 CET (UTC+1)				Stadium: Elindus Arena Referee: Kevin Van Damme

Mechelen v Seraing

27 December 2021 21	Mechelen	2–0	Seraing	Mechelen
18:45 CET (UTC+1)				Stadium: Achter de Kazerne Referee: Jasper Vergoote

OH Leuven v Mechelen

15 January 2022 22	OH Leuven	5–0	Mechelen	Leuven
16:15 CET (UTC+1)				Stadium: Den Dreef
Note: The result was awarded as 5–0 forfeit win due to Mechelen opting to not send their team after multiple COVID-19 cases. Their initial request to postpone the match was declined.

Mechelen v Anderlecht

23 January 2022 23	Mechelen	0–1	Anderlecht	Mechelen
18:30 CET (UTC+1)		Report	Zirkzee 23'	Stadium: Achter de Kazerne Referee: Jan Boterberg

Standard Liège v Mechelen

30 January 2022 25	Standard Liège	1–2	Mechelen	Liège
18:30 CET (UTC+1)	Cafaro 44'	Report	Mrabti 49' Storm 90'	Stadium: Stade Maurice Dufrasne Attendance: 10,286 Referee: Bram Van Driessche

Mechelen v Beerschot

6 February 2022 26	Mechelen	3–2	Beerschot	Mechelen
16:00 CET (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Achter de Kazerne Referee: Alexandre Boucaut

Mechelen v Oostende

12 February 2022 27	Mechelen	3–0	Oostende	Mechelen
18:30 CET (UTC+1)				Stadium: Achter de Kazerne Referee: Nicola Laforge

Genk v Mechelen

16 February 2022 24	Genk	4–1	Mechelen	Genk
21:00 CET (UTC+1)				Stadium: Luminus Arena

Antwerp v Mechelen

20 February 2022 28	Antwerp	1–2	Mechelen	Antwerp
13:30 CET (UTC+1)	Haroun  67' Frey 83'		Cuypers 24' Storm 26' Vinícius  67' Vanlerberghe  85'	Stadium: Bosuilstadion Attendance: 11,354 Referee: Lothar D'hondt

Mechelen v Cercle Brugge

26 February 2022 29	Mechelen	2–2	Cercle Brugge	Mechelen
CET (UTC+1)				Stadium: Achter de Kazerne

Sint-Truiden v Mechelen

4 March 2022 30	Sint-Truiden	1–1	Mechelen	Sint-Truiden
20:45 CET (UTC+1)				Stadium: Stayen

Mechelen v Charleroi

12 March 2022 31	Mechelen	2–2	Charleroi	Mechelen
CET (UTC+1)				Stadium: Achter de Kazerne

Eupen v Mechelen

19 March 2022 32	Eupen	1–1	Mechelen	Eupen
16:15 CET (UTC+1)				Stadium: Kehrwegstadion

Mechelen v Kortrijk

2 April 2022 33	Mechelen	3–2	Kortrijk	Mechelen
18:30 CEST (UTC+2)				Stadium: Achter de Kazerne

Club Brugge v Mechelen

10 April 2022 34	Club Brugge	2–0	Mechelen	Bruges
18:30 CEST (UTC+2)	Rits 32' Skov Olsen 76'	Report		Stadium: Jan Breydel Stadium Attendance: 21,802 Referee: Bram Van Driessche

Play-Off II

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation		GNT	GNK	CHA	MEC
1	Gent	6	4	0	2	9	5	+4	43	Qualification for the Europa League play-off round[a]		—	0–1	1–2	1–0
2	Genk	6	3	2	1	10	8	+2	37			0–2	—	3–2	4–2
3	Charleroi	6	2	1	3	10	12	−2	34			1–3	2–2	—	3–2
4	Mechelen	6	1	1	4	6	10	−4	30			1–2	0–0	1–0	—

Source: Jupiler Pro League (in Dutch), Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points without (possible) half points added due to rounding; 3) Regular season finishing position.[12]
Notes:

1. Gent qualified for the Europa League play-off round as the 2021–22 Belgian Cup winners.

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
6	1	1	4	6	10	−4	4	1	1	1	2	2	0	0	0	3	4	8	−4

Last updated: 21 May 2022.
Source: Jupiler Pro League

Results by round

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

Updated to match(es) played on 21 May 2022. Source: Jupiler Pro League
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Mechelen v Charleroi

23 April 2022 1	Mechelen	1–0	Charleroi	Mechelen
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)	Vanlerberghe 51'	Report		Stadium: Achter de Kazerne Attendance: 9,068 Referee: Nicolas Laforge

Genk v Mechelen

29 April 2022 2	Genk	4–2	Mechelen	Genk
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: Cegeka Arena Attendance: 14,021 Referee: Lawrence Visser

Gent v Mechelen

7 May 2022 3	Gent	1–0	Mechelen	Ghent
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)	De Sart  70' Okumu 82'	Report	Van Hoorenbeeck  62' Van Hecke  88' Hairemans  90' Peyre  90+3'	Stadium: Ghelamco Arena Attendance: 8,363 Referee: Alexandre Boucaut

Mechelen v Gent

10 May 2022 4	Mechelen	1–2	Gent	Mechelen
18:45 CEST (UTC+2)	Mrabti 45+4' Hairemans 89'	Report	Ngadeu-Ngadjui 36' Bezus  85' Godeau  87' Owusu  90' Tissoudali 90+4'	Stadium: Achter de Kazerne Attendance: 8,213 Referee: Jan Boterberg

Charleroi v Mechelen

14 May 2022 5	Charleroi	3–2	Mechelen	Charleroi
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: Stade du Pays de Charleroi Attendance: 4,111 Referee: Wim Smet

Mechelen v Genk

21 May 2022 6	Mechelen	0–0	Genk	Mechelen
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)	Van Hecke  31' Souza  54'	Report		Stadium: Achter de Kazerne Attendance: 11,278 Referee: Christof Dierick

Belgian Cup

Main article: 2021–22 Belgian Cup

Mechelen v Union Saint-Gilloise

26 October 2021 Sixth round	Mechelen	2–1	Union Saint-Gilloise	Mechelen
20:30 CEST (UTC+2)	Shved 16' Swers  24' Hairemans 65' Schoofs  82'	Report	Sorinola  40' Vanzeir 82',  93'	Stadium: Achter de Kazerne Referee: Arthur Denil

Mechelen v Cercle Brugge

1 December 2021 Seventh round	Mechelen	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Cercle Brugge	Mechelen
20:30 CET (UTC+1)	De Camargo 67' Storm 117'	Report	Somers 30'	Stadium: Achter de Kazerne Referee: Bram Van Driessche

Mechelen v Eupen

22 December 2021 Quarter-finals	Mechelen	1–3	Eupen	Mechelen
20:30 CET (UTC+1)	De Camargo 23'	Report	Ngoy 55' Prevljak 83', 90+6'	Stadium: Achter de Kazerne Referee: Lothar D'hondt

Statistics

Goalscorers

As of 21 May 2022

Rank	Pos.	No.	Player	Pro League	Belgian Cup	Total
1	FW	11	Nikola Storm	15	1	16
2	FW	14	Hugo Cuypers	13	0	13
3	FW	19	Kerim Mrabti	10	0	10
4	MF	7	Geoffry Hairemans	5	1	6
5	MF	16	Rob Schoofs	4	0	4
6	DF	7	Sandy Walsh	3	0	3
	FW	35	Marian Shved	2	1	3
8	DF	30	Jordi Vanlerberghe	2	0	2
	FW	10	Igor de Camargo	2	0	2
	FW	20	Gustav Engvall	2	0	2
Total				67	5	72

References

1. Media, Golazo. "Jupiler Pro League". jupilerproleague.be. Archived from the original on 2020-09-07. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
2. "Oum Gouet Vierde Zomertransfer" [Oum Gouet Fourth Summer Transfer] (in Dutch). kvmechelen.be. 23 June 2021. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
3. "Hugo Cuypers Komt Naar Mechelen" (in Dutch). kvmechelen.be. 14 June 2021.
4. "Vinicius Souza Wordt Gehuurd" (in Dutch). kvmechelen.be. 26 June 2021.
5. "Ebe Swers Tekent Voor 4 Jaar" (in Dutch). kvmechelen.be. 28 May 2021.
6. "Lillenaar Flor Van Den Eynden (ex-Inter Milaan) keert na voetballoos jaar terug bij KV Mechelen: "Via de beloften snel stap zetten naar de A-kern"" (in Dutch). hln.be. 30 December 2021.
7. "OFFICIEEL: Wouters moet Van Damme doen vergeten bij KV Mechelen" (in Dutch). voetbalprimeur.be. 12 January 2022.
8. "OFFICIEEL: KV Mechelen haalt Van Drongelen binnen: "Jonge, frisse kerel"" (in Dutch). voetbalprimeur.be. 31 January 2022.
9. "OFFICIEEL: Mechelen voegt Youan nog toe aan de selectie" (in Dutch). voetbalprimeur.be. 31 January 2022.
10. "Bondsreglement Titel 7: Competities" [Association Rules Title 7: Competitions] (PDF). Royal Belgian Football Association. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
11. "Pro League 2021/2022: Un choc d'entrée pour le Standard et Anderlecht". www.footnews.be (in French). 8 June 2021.
12. "BOEK P" [BOOK P] (PDF). Belgian FA. Retrieved 3 May 2021.