KV Mechelen shows courage with 18-year-old striker Mbasi, who made his debut in the competition. Coach Vanderbiest is impressed by the young man. 'You have to dare as a club to put an 18-year-old boy from Eerste Nationale in the starting lineup in the first home match. He did well and was balanced. Chapeau. He held it for 90 minutes and even played left forward at the end when we went all out.' Because Mbasi also comes into the ball, other players can wander around him. Vanderbiest also suspects that it's a boy with a side, which he applauds. All these things contributed to the fact that after the break, you already saw a Malinwa like you can expect at Achter de Kazerne. A guarantee of point gain in the coming weeks is not. But the shown DNA, with a lot of ferocity and opportunism, and the increase in player performance is a positive trend for the club. KV Mechelen is currently 14th in the Jupiler Pro League, with 1 point, 0 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss out of 2 matches. The club is 5 points behind the leaders Club Brugge KV. The next match is against Anderlecht (away, 2027-02-13).