Waarom de score van KV Mechelen in het begin van het seizoen op wankele grond is gebouwd – Teamanalyse
Na alle seizoenen behalve één in de hoogste klasse te hebben doorgebracht en meerdere keren in de bovenste helft van de ranglijst te zijn geëindigd, is het eerlijk om te zeggen dat ze hun reputatie als een club hebben verdiend
Last season, they placed eighth in the league, only missing out on a European competition playoff at the hands of Gent, who finished nine points higher
It was their fourth time in five seasons, since their promotion after a solitary season out of the Belgian elite in 2019, that they finished in the top 8 — quite a feat for a club not traditionally considered one of the big boys in the country
This season, they’ve started fairly well again, indicating that they can push for another high ranking in the standings this year
After six rounds, they are currently 9th in the table, but perhaps more surprisingly, they are the third highest scoring outfit in the league with 10 goals: only bettered by shock leaders Dender (13) and the other surprise package, Westerlo (12), who are sitting in fourth
KV Mechelen Spacing Issues
One of the most noticeable things about the way Mechelen attack when you watch them play is just how spread out the players are on the pitch
Besnik Hasi’s side mainly line up in a 3-4-3 shape, with a heavy focus on wing play and a direct approach offensively
The biggest protagonists in this system are their wing-backs, normally the adventurous German Patrick Pflücke on the right, who is a winger by trade, and the domestic Daam Foulon on the left
Their aim is to get them as wide and high up the pitch as possible, with the deeper players on the ball being tasked with finding them in spaces through long balls and quick switches of play
While this has paid dividends on many occasions this season, when you look beneath the surface, it’s clear that there are some structural issues in the way they set up when in possession.
