View source for 2018 Belgian Cup final

{{Infobox football match
|              title = 2018 Belgian Cup final
|              image =
|              event = [[2017–18 Belgian Cup]]
|              team1 = [[K.R.C. Genk|Genk]]
|         team1score = 0
|              team2 = [[Standard Liège]]
|         team2score = 1
|            details = After [[Overtime (sports)#Association football|extra time]]
|               date = 17 March 2018
|            stadium = [[King Baudouin Stadium]]
|               city = [[Brussels]]
| man_of_the_match1a = [[Renaud Emond]]
|            referee = [[Jonathan Lardot]]
|         attendance = 44,807
|            weather =
|           previous = [[2017 Belgian Cup final|2017]]
|               next = [[2019 Belgian Cup final|2019]]
}}
The '''2018 Belgian Cup final''', named Croky Cup after the sponsor, was the 63rd [[Belgian Cup]] final and took place on 17 March 2018. The match was played between [[K.R.C. Genk|Genk]], who qualified on 6 February 2018, and [[Standard Liège]] who qualified two days later. In a dull match without many chances, Standard Liège won after extra time with the only goal coming from [[Renaud Emond]] at the beginning of extra time. As a result, Standard Liège qualified for the [[2018–19 UEFA Europa League#Group stage|2018–19 UEFA Europa League Group stage]]. 

Standard had already won the cup seven times (out of 16 finals), with their last win in [[2016 Belgian Cup Final|2016]] against [[Club Brugge KV|Club Brugge]]. Genk made its fifth appearance in the Belgian Cup Final and had won on all four previous occasions. The [[2000 Belgian Cup Final]] also featured Genk and Standard, with Genk overcoming an early deficit to win by four goals to one.

==Route to the final==
{{see also|2017–18 Belgian Cup}}
{| width="100%" style="text-align:center"
|-  style="vertical-align:top; background:#9cf;"
!colspan=4 style="width:1*"|Genk
!
!colspan=4 style="width:1*"|Standard Liège
|-  style="vertical-align:top; background:#c1e0ff;"
|Opponent
|Result
|Legs
|Scorers
| style="background:#c1e0ff;"|Round
|Opponent
|Result
|Legs
|Scorers
|-
|[[Cercle Brugge K.S.V.|Cercle Brugge]] ([[2017–18 Belgian First Division B|II]])
|1–0
|1–0 away
|[[Alejandro Pozuelo|Pozuelo]]
| style="background:#c1e0ff;"|[[2017–18 Belgian Cup#Round 6|Sixth round]]
|[[K.S.K. Heist|Heist]] ([[2017–18 Belgian First Amateur Division|III]])
|4–0
|4–0 home
|[[Carlos Vinícius Santos de Jesus|Carlinhos]], [[Răzvan Marin|Marin]], [[Orlando Sá|Sá]], [[Duje Čop|Čop]]
|-
|[[KV Mechelen|Mechelen]] ([[2017–18 Belgian First Division A|I]])
|1–1 {{aet}} (5–4 [[Penalty shoot-out (association football)|p]])
|1–1 away
|[[Marcus Ingvartsen|Ingvartsen]]
| style="background:#c1e0ff;"|[[2017–18 Belgian Cup#Round 7|Seventh round]]
|[[R.S.C. Anderlecht|Anderlecht]] ([[2017–18 Belgian First Division A|I]])
|1–0
|1–0 away
|[[Carlos Vinícius Santos de Jesus|Carlinhos]]
|-
|[[Waasland-Beveren]] ([[2017–18 Belgian First Division A|I]])
|3–3 {{aet}} (4–2 [[Penalty shoot-out (association football)|p]])
|3–3 home
|[[Ruslan Malinovskyi|Malinovskyi]] (2), [[Leandro Trossard|Trossard]]
| style="background:#c1e0ff;"|[[2017–18 Belgian Cup#Quarterfinals|Quarter-finals]]
|[[K.V. Oostende|Oostende]] ([[2017–18 Belgian First Division A|I]])
|3–2
|3–2 away
|[[Orlando Sá|Sá]], [[Răzvan Marin|Marin]], [[Renaud Emond|Emond]]
|-
|[[K.V. Kortrijk|Kortrijk]] ([[2017–18 Belgian First Division A|I]])
|3–3 ([[Away goals rule|a.g.]])
|2–3 away; 1–0 home
|[[Marcus Ingvartsen|Ingvartsen]], [[Thomas Buffel|Buffel]]; [[Ibrahima Seck|Seck]]
| style="background:#c1e0ff;"|[[2017–18 Belgian Cup#Semifinals|Semi-finals]]
|[[Club Brugge KV|Club Brugge]] ([[2017–18 Belgian First Division A|I]])
|6–4
|4–1 home; 2–3 away
|[[Renaud Emond|Emond]] (3), [[Edmilson Junior|Edmilson]]; [[Orlando Sá|Sá]], [[Renaud Emond|Emond]]
|}

==Match==
===Summary===
On an ice cold evening, both teams offered a very meagre display as the match started with many fouls and fierce duels, but without any chances. About 15 minutes into the match, a header from [[Renaud Emond]] that landed on top of the goal was the first meaningful event. As both teams did not succeed to set up successful combinations, they started trying long range shots, but neither [[Răzvan Marin]] nor [[Ibrahima Seck]] managed to keep their shots on target. [[Nikos Karelis]] did, but his shot was correctly disallowed for offside. Key players [[Alejandro Pozuelo]] and [[Mehdi Carcela]] were nowhere to be seen and only set pieces some small chances in the remainder of the first half, with both [[Christian Luyindama]] and [[Joseph Aidoo (Ghanaian footballer)|Joseph Aidoo]] putting their headers off target.

The second half did not prove to be much better, Standard Liège started best with dangerous long distance kicks from [[Edmilson Junior]] and [[Collins Fai]] but still the match remained without a single effort on target. Alejandro Pozuelo was very much invisible, but almost benefited from a mistake from [[Luis Pedro Cavanda]], before his assist was snatched away by [[Jean-François Gillet]] just before Nikos Karelis could get to it. A deflected shot from Răzvan Marin caused some minor excitement at the other end of the pitch. It took until the very end of the second half before a first attempt on target was made, Joseph Aidoo almost headed in the winner on a corner kick, but a stunning reflex from Jean-François Gillet denied his effort.

In the extra-time, Standard Liège started furiously, with a back-heel pass from [[Paul-José M'Poku]] setting up Mehdi Carcela to give a perfect assist for Renaud Emond who headed in the ball past [[Danny Vukovic]]. Genk now had to advance quickly and almost got lucky as a cross from [[Bojan Nastić]] nearly landed in goal. A free-kick from [[Ruslan Malinovskyi]] just missed the goal. In the second half of the extra-time, Genk was not able to get past Gillet, despite efforts from [[Leandro Trossard]]. The game had also become extra fierce, forcing referee [[Jonathan Lardot]] to give several yellow cards, eventually even sending off Bojan Nastić just minutes before time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sporza.be/permalink/1.3162424|title=Emond knikt Standard na verlengingen naar bekerwinst|trans-title=Emond heads Standard to cup victory after extra time|date=17 March 2018|work=sporza.be|accessdate=19 March 2018}}{{Dead link|date=June 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

===Details===
<onlyinclude>{{Football box
| date         = 17 March 2018
| time         = 20:45
| team1        = [[K.R.C. Genk|Genk]]
| team2        = [[Standard Liège]]
| score        = 0–1
| aet          = yes
| report       = [http://sporza.be/permalink/1.3162424 report] 
| goals1       = 
| goals2       = [[Renaud Emond|Emond]] {{goal|92}}
| stadium      = [[King Baudouin Stadium]], [[Brussels]]
| attendance   = 44,807
| referee      = [[Jonathan Lardot]]
}}</onlyinclude>

{| width=92%
|-
|{{Football kit
|pattern_la = 
|pattern_b  = _genk18c
|pattern_ra = 
|pattern_sh = _genk18c
|pattern_s  = 
|leftarm    = 032E91
|body       = 0057F9
|rightarm   = 032E91
|shorts     = 0057F9
|socks      = 0057F9
| title      = Genk
}}
|{{Football kit
|pattern_la=_sdl1718t
|pattern_b=_sdl1718t
|pattern_ra=_sdl1718t
|pattern_sh=_sdl1718t
|pattern_s=
|leftarm=FFFFFF
|body=FFFFFF
|rightarm3FFFFFF
|shorts=000000
|socks=DFFD39
| title = Standard Liège
}}
|}

{| width="100%"
|valign="top" width="50%"|
{| style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
|-
!width="25"| !!width="25"|
|-
|GK ||'''1''' ||{{flagicon|AUS}} [[Danny Vukovic]]
|-
|RB ||'''27'''||{{flagicon|ANG}} [[Clinton Mata]] || {{yel|82}}
|-
|CB ||'''45'''||{{flagicon|GHA}} [[Joseph Aidoo (Ghanaian footballer)|Joseph Aidoo]]
|-
|CB ||'''15'''||{{flagicon|GAM}} [[Omar Colley]]
|-
|LB ||'''3''' ||{{flagicon|SRB}} [[Bojan Nastić]] || {{sent off|2|90|120+1}}
|-
|DM ||'''17'''||{{flagicon|SEN}} [[Ibrahima Seck]] 
|-
|CM ||'''24'''||{{flagicon|ESP}} [[Alejandro Pozuelo]]
|-
|CM ||'''18'''||{{flagicon|UKR}} [[Ruslan Malinovskyi]] || || {{suboff|110}} 
|-
|RW ||'''19'''||{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Thomas Buffel]] || {{yel|109}} 
|-
|LW ||'''77'''||{{flagicon|DRC}} [[Dieumerci Ndongala]] || {{yel|62}} || {{suboff|64}} 
|-
|CF ||'''7''' ||{{flagicon|GRE}} [[Nikos Karelis]] || || {{suboff|74}} 
|-
|colspan=4|'''Substitutes:'''
|-
|DF ||'''4''' ||{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Dries Wouters]] || || {{subon|110}}
|-
|DF ||'''6''' ||{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Sébastien Dewaest]]
|-
|FW ||'''10'''||{{flagicon|TAN}} [[Mbwana Samatta]] || {{yel|90+1}} || {{subon|74}}
|-
|FW ||'''14'''||{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Leandro Trossard]] || || {{subon|64}}
|-
|FW ||'''22'''||{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Siebe Schrijvers]]
|-
|GK ||'''30'''||{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Nordin Jackers]] 
|-
|DF ||'''31'''||{{flagicon|DEN}} [[Joakim Mæhle]]
|-
|colspan=4|'''Manager:'''
|-
|colspan="4"|{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Philippe Clement]]
|}
|valign="top"|[[File:Genk-Standard_Luik_17-03-2018.svg|300px]]
|valign="top" width="50%"|
{| style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align=center
|-
!width="25"| !!width="25"|
|-
|GK ||'''1''' ||{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Jean-François Gillet]] 
|-
|RB ||'''29'''||{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Luis Pedro Cavanda]]
|-
|CB ||'''26'''||{{flagicon|DRC}} [[Christian Luyindama]] || {{yel|105}} 
|-
|CB ||'''24'''||{{flagicon|GRE}} [[Giorgos Koutroubis]]
|-
|LB ||'''21'''||{{flagicon|CMR}} [[Collins Fai]] || {{yel|82}}
|-
|CM ||'''6''' ||{{flagicon|BIH}} [[Gojko Cimirot]]
|-
|CM ||'''18'''||{{flagicon|ROM}} [[Răzvan Marin]] || {{yel|103}}
|-
|RW ||'''22'''||{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Edmilson Junior]] || || {{suboff|97}} 
|-
|AM ||'''10'''||{{flagicon|MAR}} [[Mehdi Carcela]] || {{yel|105}} || {{suboff|105}}
|-
|LW ||'''40'''||{{flagicon|DRC}} [[Paul-José M'Poku]] || {{yel|67}}
|-
|CF ||'''9''' ||{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Renaud Emond]] || || {{suboff|120+2}}
|-
|colspan=4|'''Substitutes:'''
|-
|DF ||'''2''' ||{{flagicon|HAI}} [[Réginal Goreux]]
|-
|FW ||'''7''' ||{{flagicon|CRO}} [[Duje Čop]] || || {{subon|97}}
|-
|GK ||'''13'''||{{flagicon|MEX}} [[Guillermo Ochoa]]
|-
|DF ||'''15'''||{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Sébastien Pocognoli]] || || {{subon|120+2}}
|-
|MF ||'''19'''||{{flagicon|MLI}} [[Moussa Djenepo]] || {{yel|116}} || {{subon|105}}
|-
|FW ||'''25'''||{{flagicon|BRA}} [[Carlos Vinícius Santos de Jesus|Carlinhos]] 
|-
|MF ||'''30'''||{{flagicon|ALB}} [[Lindon Selahi]] 
|-
|colspan=4|'''Manager:'''
|-
|colspan="4"|{{flagicon|POR}} [[Ricardo Sá Pinto]]
|}
|}

{| width=100% style="font-size: 90%"
|style="width:60%; vertical-align:top;"|
'''Match rules'''
*90 minutes.
*30 minutes of extra time if necessary.
*Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.
*Seven named substitutes.
*Maximum of three substitutions.
|}

==Footnotes==
{{reflist|group=nb}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|https://web.archive.org/web/20120622110948/http://www.cofidiscup.be:80/}} {{in lang|fr|nl}}

{{Belgian Cup}}
{{2017–18 in Belgian football}}
{{2017–18 in European football (UEFA)}}
{{K.R.C. Genk matches}}
{{Standard Liège matches}}

[[Category:Belgian Cup finals]]
[[Category:2017–18 in Belgian football|Cup Final]]
[[Category:March 2018 sports events in Belgium|Belgian Cup Final]]
[[Category:Sports competitions in Brussels]]
[[Category:2018 in Brussels|Belgian Cup Final]]
[[Category:K.R.C. Genk matches]]
[[Category:Standard Liège matches]]