Genk Comeback Exposes Braga's Defence, Europa Hopes Wobble

SC Braga’s perfect European start vanished on Thursday when they surrendered a 2-0 advantage and fell 4-3 to KRC Genk in the first Europa League season to use a Swiss-style league table. The reverse, watched by 25,214 fans at the Estádio Municipal de Braga, leaves the Minhotos hovering around the top-eight cut-off that offers direct passage to the last-16.

How the match unfolded

Carlos Vicens’s men struck twice inside half an hour. Simon Banza tapped in from close range after a Víctor Gómez overlap (17’) and Ricardo Horta doubled the margin with a whipped free-kick that beat Maarten Vandevoordt at his near post (29’).

Genk pulled one back on the stroke of half-time, Joseph Paintsil sliding in to meet a low cross from Ángelo Preciado (45+1’). That psychological blow proved decisive. After the restart the Belgian visitors overran Braga’s midfield: Tolu Arokodare levelled with a glancing header (52’), Bilal El Khannouss curled home from the edge of the box (58’) and captain Bryan Heynen made it 4-2 after a turnover in midfield (69’). Substitute Álvaro Djaló halved the deficit with a driving finish (76’) but Genk held firm despite late pressure.

Goal sequence confirmed by UEFA’s official match report published at 22:41 CET.

Standings under the new Swiss format

This is the first campaign in which the Europa League features 36 clubs playing eight games against seeded opponents. The top eight advance straight to the last-16; teams ranked 9-24 face a February play-off. Braga, who opened with three victories, stay on nine points and provisionally sit seventh on goal difference. Genk climb to 13 points, joining the congested chase pack behind leaders Nice.

What the coach and captain said

Speaking in his post-match press conference, broadcast live on RTP 3, Vicens admitted the mood in the dressing-room was “half triumph, half frustration.”

“We managed the first 40 minutes almost perfectly, then one lapse changed everything,” the Spaniard said. “Our structure after half-time was too open. That is on me and it will be corrected before Glasgow.”

Captain Ricardo Horta, interviewed in the mixed zone by Eleven Sports, added: “Results like this hurt but also remind us we cannot switch off. The margin for error in this format is tiny and qualification is still in our hands.”

Genk’s tactical edge

Thorsten Fink lined Genk up in a 4-2-3-1 that blocked passes into João Moutinho and forced Braga wide. With the full-backs caught high, Paintsil and Arokodare attacked the vacant channels and finished with a combined two goals and one assist. Genk’s 16 shots included eight on target, compared with Braga’s six, a statistic that backed Fink’s assessment that “transitions decided the night.”

Why the result matters for Portugal

Beyond club pride, the outcome dents Portugal’s bid to reclaim sixth place in UEFA’s country coefficient table from the Netherlands. Benfica, Porto and Sporting have all dropped points this week, leaving Braga as the nation’s best-placed side in the Europa League. A top-eight finish would guarantee not only a last-16 berth for the Arsenalistas but also valuable bonus coefficient points.

Braga travel to Rangers on 27 November before hosting Nice on 11 December. One win from those two fixtures should be enough to seal automatic last-16 qualification; anything less risks the play-off lottery that proved fatal for Sporting and Benfica in recent years.

At 4-3 the scoreline stings, yet nothing is lost. Vicens has a fortnight to plug defensive gaps, and Braga supporters know the club’s European destiny remains firmly under its own control.