SINT-TRUIDEN, Belgium (Interstat) — Leuven came from behind after halftime and defeated St. Truiden 2-1 in a league match, turning a narrow deficit into a one-goal victory behind goals from Robin Mirisola and Davis Opoku. St. Truiden had taken the lead early in the second half through Nathanael Mbuku, but Leuven answered twice after the break to secure the result. The first half ended without a goal before Mbuku broke through in the 46th minute. Leuven finished the match with four yellow cards, including late bookings in stoppage time, while St. Truiden received one caution. The visitors made three substitutions, and the home side made five changes as both teams adjusted during a tense second half.

Mbuku scored in the 46th minute to give St. Truiden the lead. Leuven pulled level in the 53rd when Mirisola found the net, and Opoku supplied the decisive goal in the 81st. Opoku was booked in the 88th minute after his goal. Wouter George and Siebe Schrijvers each recorded an assist for Leuven, while Frederic Soelle had an assist for St. Truiden before he was substituted in the 72nd minute. Mbuku played 90 minutes and scored once, Mirisola played 90 minutes and scored once, and Opoku played 90 minutes with one goal and a yellow card. George and Schrijvers each played 90 minutes and had one assist, and Soelle played 72 minutes and recorded one assist. St. Truiden’s opener came immediately after halftime, but the lead lasted only seven minutes before Mirisola leveled.

Yellow cards also went to Lawrence of Leuven in the 55th minute, Matsuzawa of St. Truiden in the 84th, Nyakossi of Leuven in the third minute of stoppage time and Simons of Leuven in the fifth minute of stoppage time. St. Truiden used substitutions in the 46th minute with Takai, in the 67th with Merlen and Sebaoui, in the 72nd with Soelle and in the 84th with Pupe. Leuven made changes in the 67th minute with Addai, in the 73rd with Ogiwara and in the fifth minute of stoppage time with George. The most important sequence came after Mbuku’s opener, when Leuven responded within seven minutes through Mirisola and then found the winner through Opoku with nine minutes of regulation remaining. The late flurry of cards included three bookings for Leuven in the final minutes of regulation and stoppage time.

The result left Leuven with one win, no losses and two draws in this competition and two wins, no losses and two draws across all competitions. St. Truiden dropped to two wins, six losses and two draws in the competition and five wins, six losses and two draws overall. Leuven had entered after a 2-2 draw against Lommel SK, a 1-0 win over Francs Borains and a 1-1 draw at Royale Union SG. St. Truiden had most recently lost 3-2 at Club Brugge KV after a 1-0 win at Midtjylland and a 4-1 home win over Lommel SK. St. Truiden was scheduled to host Zulte-Waregem in its next league match. Its following league games include a trip to RSC Charleroi and a home match against Genk. Leuven remained unbeaten in the competition after three matches and also remained unbeaten across all competitions. St. Truiden’s competition loss was its sixth, and the home side fell short after taking the early second-half lead.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of St. Truiden 1, Leuven 1. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Leuven with an 86.9 percent probability to win. St. Truiden had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -0.75. The total score of 3 went under the over/under line of 2.5.