Antwerp started the season under new coach Ivan Leko with a sweet win over Club Brugge in the belated Cup final of the previous campaign. Yet, they could not maintain that early momentum and had their stumbles in the league in the first couple of months, dropping points to lower division sides.
However, the Good Old started to find their form as the season went on and a run of one loss in eight and four wins in a row briefly even put them top of the table. They also impressed in Europe, beating Tottenham at home on the way to securing a spot in the last-32 of the Europa League.
Yet, the toll of the number of games played in condensed time shoed towards the end of 2020 as three losses in a row saw the team lose ground in the race at the summit. Moreover, Leko shocked the club with his decision to quit just six months after taking over and accept a lucrative offer from China.
Antwerp turned to an experienced coach like Franckie Vercauteren and he managed to keep the team humming along nicely as the games kept coming thick and fast in 2021. They went on a run of just one loss in eight and solidified their spot as the third best team in the league after Brugge and Genk.
Indeed, the team went into the play-offs determined to battle for the second place and a Champions League qualification but a COVID outbreak hit at the worst possible time and Antwerp struggled to get wins in the final six games. Nevertheless, a victory over Anderlecht on the final day secured the third place in the standings and a Europa League slot next season.
Given all the off-filed instability, that feels like a pretty good achievement for a team that continues to grow and develop in the last few years and will hope to mount a real title challenge next season.
