2023–24 K.V. Mechelen season

The 2023–24 season was K.V. Mechelen's 120th season in existence and fifth consecutive in the Belgian Pro League. They also competed in the Belgian Cup.

K.V. Mechelen

2023–24 season
Manager	Steven Defour (until 2 November) Besnik Hasi (from 8 November)
Stadium	AFAS Stadion
Belgian Pro League Regular season	8th
Europe Play-offs	2nd
Belgian Cup	Seventh round
Belgian Super Cup	Runners-up
Top goalscorer	League: Kerim Mrabti (8) All: Kerim Mrabti (9)
Average home league attendance	13,156[1]
Biggest win	Mechelen 4–0 Union Saint-Gilloise
Biggest defeat	Genk 4–0 Mechelen
← 2022–23 2024–25 →

Players

First-team squad

As of 1 February 2024^[2]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  BEL Gaëtan Coucke 4 MF  BEL Toon Raemaekers 5 DF  IDN Sandy Walsh 6 MF  BEL Jannes Van Hecke 7 MF  BEL Geoffry Hairemans 8 MF  GUI Mory Konaté 11 FW  BEL Nikola Storm 13 FW  ALG Islam Slimani 15 GK  BEL Yannick Thoelen 16 MF  BEL Rob Schoofs 17 DF  ALG Rafik Belghali 19 FW  SWE Kerim Mrabti 20 FW  GER Lion Lauberbach 21 DF  BEL Boli Bolingoli

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 DF  BEL Elias Cobbaut (on loan from Parma) 23 MF  BEL Daam Foulon 27 DF  SCO David Bates 29 MF  BEL Bas Van den Eynden 31 GK  BEL Oskar Annell 34 MF  COD Ngal'ayel Mukau 35 MF  BEL Bilal Bafdili 36 MF  BEL Dirk Asare 37 DF  BEL Thibau Loeman 40 GK  BEL Jannes Van Hof 42 FW  ZIM Munashe Garananga 70 FW  BEL Norman Bassette (on loan from Caen) 77 FW  GER Patrick Pflücke

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  BEL Dimitri Lavalée (at Sturm Graz until 30 June 2024) — DF  BEL Iebe Swers (at Patro Eisden until 30 June 2024) — DF  BEL Alec Van Hoorenbeeck (at Twente until 30 June 2024)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  BEL Amin Doudah (at Helmond until 30 June 2024) — FW  BEL Julien Ngoy (at Kasımpaşa until 30 June 2024)

Transfers

In

Pos.	Player	Transferred from	Fee	Date	Source
DF	Rafik Belghali	Lommel	€400,000	1 July 2023	[3]
MF	Daam Foulon	Benevento	Free	7 July 2023	[4]
MF	Mory Konaté	Sint-Truiden	Free	13 July 2023	[5]
MF	Amin Doudah	Jong PSV	Free	26 July 2023	[6]
MF	Patrick Pflücke	Servette	€500,000	21 August 2023	[7]
FW	Norman Bassette	Caen	Loan	1 September 2023	[8]
DF	Elias Cobbaut	Parma	Loan	5 September 2023	[9]
DF	Munashe Garananga	Sheriff Tiraspol	€350,000	1 February 2024
FW	Islam Slimani	Curitiba	Free	1 February 2024

Out

Pos.	Player	Transferred to	Fee	Date	Source
FW	Alessio da Cruz	Feralpisalò	€500,000	1 July 2023	[10]
MF	Samuel Oum Gouet	Yverdon-Sport	Undisclosed	26 July 2023	[11]
MF	Amin Doudah	Helmond Sport	Loan	27 July 2023	[12]

Pre-season and friendlies

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

Rupel Boom v Mechelen

1 July 2023 Friendly	Rupel Boom	0–3	Mechelen	Boom
16:00 UTC+2				Stadium: Gemeentelijk Parkstadion

Beveren v Mechelen

8 July 2023 Friendly	Beveren	0–3	Mechelen	Beveren
16:00 UTC+2				Stadium: Waasland-Beveren Jeugdcomplex

Mechelen v Maccabi Netanya

14 July 2023 Friendly	Mechelen	3–2	Maccabi Netanya	Netherlands
15:00 UTC+2

Hertha BSC v Mechelen

10 January 2024 Friendly	Hertha BSC	0–3	Mechelen	San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain
15:00 CET (UTC+1)	Zeefuik  76'		Pflücke 23', 29' Asante 90+1'	Stadium: Pinatar Arena Football Center

Competitions

Overall record

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
					Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Belgian Pro League Regular season	30 July 2023	17 March 2024	Matchday 1	8th	30	13	6	11	39	34	+5	043.33
Europe Play-offs	29 March 2024	25 May 2024	Matchday 1	2nd	10	5	1	4	20	18	+2	050.00
Belgian Cup	31 October 2023		Seventh round	Seventh round	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
Belgian Super Cup	23 July 2023		Final	Runners-up	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
Total					42	18	9	15	61	54	+7	042.86

Source: Soccerway

Belgian Pro League

Main article: 2023–24 Belgian Pro League

Regular season

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
6	Genk	30	12	11	7	51	31	+20	47	Qualification for the champions' play-offs
7	Gent	30	12	11	7	53	38	+15	47	Qualification for the Europe play-offs
8	Mechelen	30	13	6	11	39	34	+5	45
9	Sint-Truiden	30	10	10	10	35	46	−11	40
10	Standard Liège	30	8	10	12	33	41	−8	34

Source: Jupiler Pro League (in Dutch), Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Matches won; 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Away matches won; 6) Away goal difference; 7) Away goals scored; 8) Play-off.^[13]

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
30	13	6	11	39	34	+5	45	7	4	4	22	12	+10	6	2	7	17	22	−5

Source: Worldfootball

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
Ground	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A
Result	D	L	L	W	W	W	L	L	D	L	L	L	D	W	W	L	D	L	W	L	W	W	D	W	D	W	W	W	W	L
Position

Source: Worldfootball
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

The league fixtures were unveiled on 22 June 2023.^[14]

Club Brugge v Mechelen

30 July 2023 1	Club Brugge	1–1	Mechelen	Bruges
18:30 UTC+2	De Cuyper  37'  77' Thiago 65'	Report	Ngoy  14' Foulon  26' Schoofs 38'	Stadium: Jan Breydel Stadium Referee: Bert Put

Mechelen v Gent

6 August 2023 2	Mechelen	0–1	Gent	Mechelen
16:00 UTC+2	Belghali  35' Hairemans  90+1' Schoofs 90+5'	Report	Lavalée 54' (o.g.) Cuypers  65' Hjulsager  66' Fortuna  85'	Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Nicolas Laforge

RWD Molenbeek v Mechelen

12 August 2023 3	RWD Molenbeek	1–0	Mechelen	Molenbeek-Saint-Jean
16:00 UTC+2	Biron 74' Klaus  84' Defourny  90+1' Rikelmi  90+4'	Report	Malede  90+5'	Stadium: Edmond Machtens Stadium Referee: Bram Van Driessche

Mechelen v Union Saint-Gilloise

19 August 2023 4	Mechelen	4–0	Union Saint-Gilloise	Mechelen
20:45 UTC+2	Mrabti 38' Hairemans 78' Belghali 89' Bates 90+4'	Report	Lazare  83' Puertas  90+4'	Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Wim Smet

Westerlo v Mechelen

26 August 2023 5	Westerlo	2–3	Mechelen	Westerlo
16:00 UTC+2	Stassin 20' Frigan 28'	Report	Storm  40' Bates  45+5' Schoofs 75' Madsen 77' (o.g.) Lauberbach 84'	Stadium: Het Kuipje Referee: Brent Staessens

Mechelen v Eupen

2 September 2023 6	Mechelen	1–0	Eupen	Mechelen
18:15 UTC+2	Lauberbach 81'	Report	Lambert  85'	Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Bert Put

Sint-Truiden v Mechelen

17 September 2023 7	Sint-Truiden	2–0	Mechelen	Sint-Truiden
19:15				Stadium: Stayen Referee: Jasper Vergoote

Mechelen v OH Leuven

23 September 2023 8	Mechelen	1–2	OH Leuven	Mechelen
18:15				Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Nathan Verboomen

Mechelen v Antwerp

30 September 2023 9	Mechelen	0–0	Antwerp	Mechelen
20:45				Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Jan Boterberg

Anderlecht v Mechelen

7 October 2023 10	Anderlecht	3–1	Mechelen	Brussels
20:45				Stadium: Constant Vanden Stock Stadium Referee: Nicolas Laforge

Genk v Mechelen

22 October 2023 11	Genk	4–0	Mechelen	Genk
13:30				Stadium: Cegeka Arena Referee: Jan Boterberg

Mechelen v Cercle Brugge

28 October 2023 12	Mechelen	0–2	Cercle Brugge	Mechelen
16:00				Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Erik Lambrechts

Standard Liège v Mechelen

5 November 2023 13	Standard Liège	1–1	Mechelen	Liège
16:00				Stadium: Stade Maurice Dufrasne Referee: Kevin Van Damme

Mechelen v Charleroi

11 November 2023 14	Mechelen	1–0	Charleroi	Mechelen
20:45				Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Wesli De Cremer

Kortrijk v Mechelen

26 November 2023 15	Kortrijk	0–3	Mechelen	Kortrijk
19:15				Stadium: Guldensporen Stadion Referee: Jan Boterberg

Mechelen v Sint-Truiden

3 December 2023 16	Mechelen	0–2	Sint-Truiden	Mechelen
16:00				Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Wim Smet

Mechelen v Club Brugge

10 December 2023 17	Mechelen	0–0	Club Brugge	Mechelen
13:30				Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Nicolas Laforge

Union Saint-Gilloise v Mechelen

17 December 2023 18	Union Saint-Gilloise	1–0	Mechelen	Brussels
16:00				Stadium: Stade Joseph Marien Referee: Bert Put

Mechelen v Standard Liège

20 December 2023 19	Mechelen	3–0	Standard Liège	Mechelen
20:45				Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Jan Boterberg

Charleroi v Mechelen

27 December 2023 20	Charleroi	3–1	Mechelen	Charleroi
20:45				Stadium: Stade du Pays de Charleroi Referee: Wesli De Cremer

Gent v Mechelen

19 January 2024 21	Gent	1–2	Mechelen	Ghent
20:45				Stadium: Ghelamco Arena Referee: Jonathan Lardot

Mechelen v RWDM

28 January 2024 22	Mechelen	3–1	RWDM	Mechelen
19:15				Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Brent Staessens

Mechelen v Anderlecht

1 February 2024 23	Mechelen	2–2	Anderlecht	Mechelen
20:30				Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Wesli De Cremer

Eupen v Mechelen

4 February 2024 24	Eupen	0–1	Mechelen	Eupen
16:00				Stadium: Kehrwegstadion Referee: Simon Bourdeaud'Hui

Mechelen v Genk

11 February 2024 25	Mechelen	1–1	Genk	Mechelen
16:00				Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Bram Van Driessche

Antwerp v Mechelen

17 February 2024 26	Antwerp	0–1	Mechelen	Antwerp
20:45				Stadium: Bosuilstadion Referee: Wesli De Cremer

Mechelen v Kortrijk

24 February 2024 27	Mechelen	3–0	Kortrijk	Mechelen
20:45				Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Lawrence Wisser

Cercle Brugge v Mechelen

2 March 2024 28	Cercle Brugge	2–3	Mechelen	Bruges
16:00	Minda 21' Felipe Augusto 44'		Mrabti 41' Hairemans 45+1' Bafdili 85'	Stadium: Jan Breydel Stadium Referee: Jan Boterberg

Mechelen v Westerlo

8 March 2024 29	Mechelen	3–1	Westerlo	Mechelen
20:45	Mrabti 11', 37' Pflücke 73'		Bos 90'	Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Nathan Verboomen

OH Leuven v Mechelen

17 March 2024 30	OH Leuven	1–0	Mechelen	Leuven
18:30	Nsingi 90+3'			Stadium: Den Dreef Referee: Jonathan Lardot

Europe Play-offs

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
10	5	1	4	20	18	+2	16	3	0	2	13	11	+2	2	1	2	7	7	0

Source: Worldfootball

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Ground	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	A	H
Result	W	L	W	L	D	W	L	L	W	W
Position	2	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2

Source: Worldfootball
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

OH Leuven v Mechelen

30 March 2024 1	OH Leuven	2–3	Mechelen	Leuven
18:15				Stadium: Den Dreef Referee: Kevin Van Damme

Mechelen v Sint-Truiden

5 April 2024 2	Mechelen	2–3	Sint-Truiden	Mechelen
20:45				Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Sebastian Gishamer (Austria)

Mechelen v Westerlo

13 April 2024 3	Mechelen	3–2	Westerlo	Mechelen
18:15				Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Arthur Denil

Gent v Mechelen

20 April 2024 4	Gent	3–1	Mechelen	Ghent
20:00				Stadium: Planet Group Arena Referee: Erik Lambrechts

Standard Liège v Mechelen

23 April 2024 5	Standard Liège	0–0	Mechelen	Liège
20:30				Stadium: Stade Maurice Dufrasne Referee: Michiel Allaerts

Mechelen v OH Leuven

27 April 2024 6	Mechelen	3–0	OH Leuven	Mechelen
16:00				Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Bram Van Driessche

Mechelen v Gent

4 May 2024 7	Mechelen	2–4	Gent	Mechelen
18:15	Hairemans 19' Slimani 32'		Fernandez-Pardo 25' Mitrović 42' Tissoudali 45+4' Hjulsager 86'	Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Jan Boterberg

Sint-Truiden v Mechelen

12 May 2024 8	Sint-Truiden	2–1	Mechelen	Sint-Truiden
16:00	Bertaccini 17', 39'		Konaté 9'	Stadium: Stayen Referee: Ken Vermeiren

Westerlo v Mechelen

18 May 2024 9	Westerlo	0–2	Mechelen	Westerlo
18:15		Report	Bafdili 25' Belghali 90'	Stadium: Het Kuipje Referee: Matonga Simonini

Mechelen v Standard Liège

25 May 2024 10	Mechelen	3–2	Standard Liège	Mechelen
20:30	Lauberbach 15', 17', 90' Bolingoli  68' Foulon  90+6'	Report	Lawrence 51' Benjdida 84'	Stadium: AFAS Stadion Referee: Wim Smet

Belgian Cup

Main article: 2023–24 Belgian Cup

Knokke v Mechelen

31 October 2023 Seventh round	Knokke	1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p)	Mechelen	Knokke
20:00	Vanraefelghem 114'	Report	Mrabti 107'	Stadium: Burgemeester Graaf Leopold Lippens Park Referee: Arne De Beuckelaer
	Penalties
	Aelterman Bailly Jalloh Vanraefelghem Coninckx		Vanlerberghe Cobbaut Hairemans Badili Lauberbach

Belgian Super Cup

Main article: 2023 Belgian Super Cup

Antwerp v Mechelen

29 July 2023 Match	Antwerp	1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p)	Mechelen	Bruges
18:00 UTC+2	Balikwisha 9' Kerk  58' Ávila  69'	Report	Foulon  47' Yusuf  55' De Laet 78' (o.g.) Mrabti  85'	Stadium: Bosuilstadion Referee: Lawrence Visser
	Penalties
	Vines Ilenikhena Van Den Bosch Vermeeren Alderweireld Butez Scott		Schoofs Mrabti Vanlerberghe Lauberbach Storm Ngoy Lavalée