Genk ended very turbulent season on a high and, despite things looking very grim early on when 2 managerial chances took place, the Blues became the strongest team in the country from March onwards and this brought them not only top 2 finish but also the Belgian Cup.
After quiet summer activity Genk began the new season with title ambitions. However, single win in the first 5 rounds (D2 L2) saw coach Wolf sacked in early September. Jess Thorup replaced him and the fortunes turned under the Dane (W4 D2) but in early October he resigned unexpectedly to get back to his homeland. As result from mid-November onwards John van den Brom was in charge.
All this early turmoil upset the results and, despite the main front trio Ito-Bongonda-Onuachu being devastating all season, Genk had very tough start to 2021 – (W1 D2 L6). Main reason for that the awful defending, with both Lucumi and Uronen having prolonged periods of poor form.
Just as it looked that Van den Brom will be sacked too he managed to turn the fortunes of the team with 4 wins in the last 6 rounds of the regular season enough to secure top 4 finish. Also Genk went all the way to the final of the Belgian Cup and lifted this trophy just before the play-offs began.
Inspired by that, Genk had near-perfect play-off run (W5 D1 L0) but this was not enough to steal the title from Club Brugge, despite beating Club twice in the post-season.
Many forward players had excellent campaign but the one standing above all was centre forward Onuachu as he broke the league’s record for most goals in single season with 32.
Van den Brom is worried that some of his main stars could be sold in the summer, but Genk seem to have plenty of depth in their ranks + money already guaranteed for new signings and the Blues are hoping for even stronger next season.
