The new Belgian season was off to an intriguing start on Friday night as both teams shared the spoils in Liege
Theo Bongonda rescued a point for Paul Onuachu’s Genk with his stoppage-time goal in their 1-1 draw against Standard Liege.
Bongonda linked up with Nigeria’s Cyril Dessers for the 92nd-minute equaliser in their 2021-22 Belgian First Division A opening fixture.
Onuachu led Genk’s attacking line at the Stade Maurice Dufrasne but he could not find the back of the net before his substitution in the 62nd minute.
The 2020-21 First Division A top scorer was replaced by Dessers who later helped the visitors cancel out Konstantinos Laifis’ 69th-minute opener.
Ghana’s John Paintsil was also in action for Genk after coming off the bench in the 71st minute while Standard Liege had Cameroon’s Collins Fai, DR Congo’s Jackson Muleka and Mali’s Moussa Sissako on parade.
The hosts were led by Senegal coach Mbaye Leye and they will turn their attention to next Sunday’s trip to Zulte-Waregem for their second league match.
Genk, on the other hand, are scheduled to host KV Oostende for their next league fixture on July 30 before taking on Shakhtar Donetsk in a Champions League qualifying match on August 3.
Onuachu’s future at the Luminus Arena remains uncertain with the Super Eagles striker reportedly attracting interest from a number of European clubs after his personal record-breaking season.
The 27-year-old still has three years left on his contract and he enjoyed the best goalscoring form of his career last season when he scored 35 goals in all competitions.
Thanks to his goals in the 2020-21 campaign, the former Midtjylland star was named the Belgian Professional Footballer of the Year and the best African player in Belgium.
Onuachu became the fifth Nigerian to win the Ebony Shoe after Club Brugge’s Daniel Amokachi (1992 &1994), RFC Liege’s Victor Ikpeba (1993), Eendracht Aalst’s Godwin Okpara (1995) and Anderlecht’s Celestine Babayaro (1996).
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