The first gameweek of the new season in the three most important cups on the Old Continent is already behind us. Particularly good in these first matches were the teams from Belgium, which did not suffer defeat in any of their 4 matches and won 3 of them. In which stadiums fans celebrated the victory the most?

The new Champions League season is a chance to shine for teams that have had a bad run in recent years. Club Brugge have never made it out of a group in this competition, but after a 1:0 victory against Bayer Leverkusen at Jan Breydel Stadion, they are definitely one step closer to advancing to the knockout round for the first time in their history.

© V&A Dudush (cc: by)

Current Belgian champions will play in the group stage of the Champions League for the fifth time in a row. ‘Blauw en Zwart’ will have a very difficult task to face in order to advance to the next stage, though. Atletico Madrid and FC Porto are yet to arrive at the venue in one of Flanders' biggest cities. Club Brugge fans certainly celebrated their team's victory for a long time after the match by visiting TOP new online casino Belgium.

Despite their best season since 1935(!), Jupiler League newcomers Royale Union Saint-Gilloise lost the national title in the final rounds of the season. 3 months later, despite winning 2-0 in their first game, they fell to Rangers FC in the Champions League play-off. Fans from the Brussels’ suburbs should not be worried, however, as the 2022/23 Europa League season has seen the club from Stade Joseph Marien get off to an excellent start.

© Pitch'd Groundhopping

In European competition, however, the 11-time national champion does not play at its home ground, but at Den Dreef in Leuven, 30 kilometers away. The Royale Union venue back in Brussels has a capacity of just 9,400 seats, but above all it does not meet the UEFA standards. This decision may not come as a surprise, as Stade Joseph Marien is over 100 years old. It even hosted the football tournament at the 1920 Olympics!

‘Les Unionistes’ unexpectedly defeated their namesake from Berlin in their first away game, and will take on Sweden's Malmo at Den Dreef in their next match. Less fortunate in a foreign stadium was KAA Gent, who competes in the Europa Conference League, and only managed to draw 0:0 against Molde at Aker Stadion. The Belgians are nevertheless favorites to make it out of Group F, which also features Shamrock Rovers and Djurgarden.

© Jörg Pochert

Belgium recorded 3 wins in the space of 2 days, with Anderlecht by beating Denmark's Silkeborg 1:0 at Lotto Park, also in UECL, being the icing on the cake. In the internal rivalry with the Dutch, the Belgians definitely do not have to be ashamed, as Feyenoord suffered a defeat in this round of fixtures and PSV only drew with Bodo/Glimt at Philips Stadion.