Gent W vs Standard Liege W Match Recap - Oct 11, 2025

Standard Liège Escapes Molenkouter with Crucial Road Victory

Standard Liège entered Sportpark Molenkouter on Saturday desperate for points, mired in the lower half of the Super League Women table with just five from their opening four matches. They left with three more, and perhaps something more valuable: momentum at precisely the moment their season threatened to drift away entirely.

The visitors struck twice in the first half to seize control, then held firm through a tense finale to claim a 2-1 victory over Gent that lifted them—however tentatively—away from the relegation conversation and toward the middle of the pack.

For Gent, the defeat marked a fifth loss in as many matches, a brutal stretch that has seen them collect just three points all season. Their lone victory, that 2-0 triumph at Genk back on September 13, now feels like an aberration in an otherwise dismal campaign. They sit seventh in the standings, and the calculus is becoming increasingly unforgiving.

A First Half to Forget

The match tilted decisively before halftime. Standard Liège opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, capitalizing on a defensive lapse that has become all too familiar for Gent supporters this season. The hosts had conceded 14 goals in their previous four matches, and this one followed the script: a moment of hesitation, a clever run, and suddenly the net was rippling.

Standard Liège doubled their advantage just before the break, this time in the 41st minute, and suddenly a team that had managed just one goal in their previous three matches—a dismal stretch that included back-to-back losses and a pair of scoreless draws—looked transformed. The visitors went to the dressing room with a two-goal cushion, and Gent with a mountain to climb.

It wasn't entirely unearned. Standard Liège had shown flashes of the quality that produced four goals against Westerlo back in mid-September, when everything seemed possible and the season still felt salvageable. This performance, while hardly dominant, suggested that version of Standard Liège might not have been a mirage after all.

A Late Rally Falls Short

Gent had little choice but to push forward in the second half, and they created chances as the minutes ticked away. But Standard Liège's defense, which had conceded eight goals across those three winless matches, found its resolve when it mattered most.

The home side finally broke through in the 90th minute, a goal that gave Sportpark Molenkouter a jolt of hope but came far too late to change the outcome. The final whistle sounded moments later, and Standard Liège could exhale.

Diverging Trajectories

The standings tell a stark story. Standard Liège climbed to fifth place with eight points from five matches, still below the playoff line but within striking distance. Their season, which had appeared to be unraveling after consecutive losses to OH Leuven and Genk, has found a foothold.

Gent, meanwhile, remain stuck in seventh with just three points, their record a dismal 1-0-4. They've now lost four straight since that surprising victory at Genk, conceding 13 goals in the process while managing just three of their own. The pattern is unmistakable: defensive fragility paired with an attack that sputters more often than it sparks.

The two teams entered Saturday in similar circumstances—both seeking an escape from mediocrity, both needing points to stay relevant in the playoff chase. Standard Liège found theirs. Gent did not.

What Comes Next

For Standard Liège, this victory represents more than three points in the standings. It's validation that their early-season struggles were correctible, that the talent that produced four goals against Westerlo wasn't a fluke. They'll need to build on this, to prove that Saturday wasn't merely a reprieve but the beginning of something sustainable.

Gent, by contrast, face harder questions. Five matches into the season, they've accumulated more defeats than points, more goals conceded than scored. The fixture list doesn't pause for introspection, and the gap to safety grows wider with each passing week.

Saturday's result at Sportpark Molenkouter clarified nothing about the title race. But it clarified plenty about the relegation battle—and which direction each of these teams is trending.